Ruth Cross References - NSB

¹ There was a famine in the land in the days when the judges ruled. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. ² The man was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi, and the two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. They went to Moab and stayed there. ³ Naomi’s husband Elimelech died. And she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They took two women of Moab as their wives. One was Orpah and the other Ruth. They made their home there for about ten years. ⁵ Mahlon and Chilion also died. Naomi was left all alone. She had no husband or sons. ⁶ Some time later Naomi heard that Jehovah blessed his people by giving them good crops. So she got ready to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law. ⁷ They started out together to go back to Judah. ⁸ On the way she said to them: »Go back home and stay with your mothers. Jehovah should be as good to you as you have been to me and to those who have died. ⁹ »May Jehovah make it possible for each of you to marry again and have a home.« Then Naomi kissed them good-bye and they cried. ¹⁰ They said to her: »No! We will go with you to your people.« ¹¹ »You must go back, my daughters,« Naomi replied. »Why do you want to come with me? Do you think I could have sons again for you to marry? ¹² »Return home, my daughters. I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought there was still hope, and got married and had sons, ¹³ »would you wait for them to grow up? Would this keep you from marrying someone else? No, my daughters, you know that is not possible. Jehovah has turned against me. I feel sorry for you.« ¹⁴ They started crying again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye and went back home. Ruth held on to her. ¹⁵ Naomi said to her: »Ruth, your sister-in-law went back to her people and her gods. Go back home with her. ¹⁶ Ruth replied: »Do not ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ »Wherever you die, I will die. That is where I will be buried. May Jehovah’s worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!« ¹⁸ When she saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said no more. ¹⁹ The two of them traveled to Bethlehem. When they arrived at Bethlehem the whole town was excited because of them. The women said: »Is this Naomi?« ²⁰ She said: »Do not call me Naomi (meaning pleasant). Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life bitter. ²¹ »I went away full, and Jehovah sent me back empty. Why do you give me the name Naomi, seeing that Jehovah has given witness against me, and the Almighty has brought sorrow to me?« ²² So Naomi came back out of the country of Moab. Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, came with her. They came to Bethlehem in the first days of the barley harvest.

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe.

¹ Abram was ninety-nine years old. Jehovah appeared to him and said: »I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless.

¹⁷ Abraham fell to his face. He laughed and said to himself: »Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?«

¹ Jehovah was gracious to Sarah, as he had said. Jehovah did for Sarah what he had promised.

¹ There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

²⁷ He came close and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his garments. Then he blessed him and said: »See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field Jehovah has blessed.«

²⁰ Jacob made a vow. He said: »If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear,

¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.

²⁸ »You did not even let me give a kiss to my sons and my daughters. This was a foolish thing you did.

⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and went back home.

¹⁹ Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem (Ephrath).

¹¹ Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar: »Return to your father’s house and remain a widow until my son Shelah grows up.« He said this because he was afraid that Shelah would be killed, as his brothers had been. So Tamar went back home.

¹ The famine was extremely bad in the land.

¹⁴ »May God Almighty cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.«

¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept on them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹⁵ Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: »May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,

²⁵ »Promise me that you will take my body with you when God leads you to that land.«

¹⁶ Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them: JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me. He said: »I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.«

³¹ The people believed them. When they heard that Jehovah was concerned about the people of Israel and that he had seen their misery, they knelt, bowed low and worshiped.

³ »I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name, Jehovah, I did not make myself known to them.

³¹ The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding. ³² But the wheat crops ripen later, and they were not damaged.

⁴ Jehovah said to Moses: »I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. ⁵ »They are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it on the sixth day.« ⁶ Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: »This evening you will know that it was Jehovah who brought you out of Egypt.

²⁷ Moses said good-bye to Jethro, and Jethro went back home.

¹⁹ »‘I will crush your arrogance. You will have no rain, and your land will be as hard as cement.

¹⁵ Jehovah kept getting rid of them until finally none of them were left.

⁴ »But all of you who were faithful to Jehovah your God are still alive today.

³ »Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons.

²⁰ »Respect Jehovah your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.

²³ »The sky above will look like copper and the ground below will be as hard as iron. ²⁴ Jehovah will send dust storms and sandstorms on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

³⁸ »You will plant many crops in your fields, but harvest little for locusts will destroy your crops.

³⁹ »See now that I, even I, am he. There is no god besides me! It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heals. There is no one who can deliver from my hand.

³ »No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of Jehovah. Their descendants to the tenth generation shall not enter the assembly of Jehovah.

⁵ »When brothers live together and one of them dies without a son the wife of the deceased shall not marry outside the family to a strange man. Her husband's brother shall marry her and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.

¹⁵ »‘If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve Jehovah.’«

¹⁵ »‘If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve Jehovah.’« ¹⁶ The people replied: »We would never leave Jehovah to serve other gods! ¹⁷ »Jehovah our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt. We saw the miracles he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed. ¹⁸ »As we advanced to this land, Jehovah drove out all the Amorites who lived here. We also will serve Jehovah. He is our God!«

¹⁸ »As we advanced to this land, Jehovah drove out all the Amorites who lived here. We also will serve Jehovah. He is our God!« ¹⁹ Joshua said to the people: »You may not be able to serve Jehovah. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals,

¹⁹ Joshua said to the people: »You may not be able to serve Jehovah. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals, ²⁰ and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before.« ²¹ The people said to Joshua: »No! We will serve Jehovah!« ²² Joshua replied: »You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve Jehovah.« They said: »We are witnesses!« ²³ »Remove the foreign gods you have.« He demanded: »Pledge your loyalty to Jehovah, the God of Israel.« ²⁴ The people said to Joshua: »We will serve Jehovah our God. We will obey his commands.« ²⁵ Joshua made a covenant for the people that day at Shechem. He gave them laws and rules to follow. ²⁶ Joshua wrote these commands in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in Jehovah’s sanctuary. ²⁷ He told the people: »This stone will serve as our witness. It has heard all the words that Jehovah spoke to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God.« ²⁸ Joshua sent the people away, and everyone returned to their own part of the land.

¹⁵ Wherever they went the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil. For Jehovah had sworn to them and as Jehovah had sworn they were greatly distressed. ¹⁶ Nevertheless Jehovah established judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they would not listen to their judges, but prostituted themselves to other gods. They worshiped them. They turned quickly, out of the way in which their fathers walked obeying the commandments of Jehovah. ¹⁸ When Jehovah established judges he supported each judge. He delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days the judge lived. He had compassion for them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.

²⁴ »‘Are you going to try to take it back? You can keep whatever your god Chemosh has given you. But we are going to keep everything Jehovah, our God, has taken for us.

⁸ After Jephthah, Ibzan from Bethlehem led Israel.

⁸ The man left Bethlehem to find another place to live. While he was traveling, he came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim.

¹ There was still no king in Israel. There was a Levite who lived in the remote area of Mount Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. ² She was unfaithful to him and went to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah. She was there four whole months.

⁵ Mahlon and Chilion also died. Naomi was left all alone. She had no husband or sons.

¹⁰ They said to her: »No! We will go with you to your people.«

¹⁴ They started crying again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye and went back home. Ruth held on to her.

¹¹ Boaz answered: »I have heard about everything you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband. You went away from your father and mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people who are strange to you. ¹² »May Jehovah reward you for what you have done. May you have a full reward from Jehovah the God of Israel, to whom you have come for protection!«

²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law: »May Jehovah bless him. The man is kind to the living and to the dead.« Then Naomi admitted to her: »The man is of our family, one of our near relatives.«

²³ So she kept near the servant girls of Boaz to gather the grain till the cutting of the early grain and the cutting of the late grain was ended. She continued living with her mother-in-law.

¹ Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her: »My daughter, Should I try to find a secure home for you where you will be well treated?

¹ There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite of the mountains of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph an Ephraimite.

¹¹ The people of Ekron called for another meeting of the Philistine rulers and told them: »Send this chest back where it belongs. Then it will not kill us.« Everyone was in a panic, because God was causing a lot of people to die.

⁷ »Jehovah takes away and He gives riches. He brings low and lifts up high. ⁸ »He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to set them among the princes. He causes them to inherit a throne of glory (honor). The pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s. He sets the world on them.

²¹ Jehovah visited Hannah so that she conceived. She bore three sons and two daughters. At the same time the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.

¹⁷ »What did Jehovah tell you?« He asked. »Please do not hide it from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.«

²² »May God punish me if I do not kill every one of those men before morning!«

³⁵ David refused to eat anything the day of the funeral even though people tried to persuade him to eat. David vowed: »May God strike me dead if I taste any food or anything else before the sun goes down.«

²¹ The army of Israel and the Philistine army stood there facing each other.

⁹ »May God deal with me harshly if I do not help David get all that Jehovah promised him when he said:

¹⁹ The king asked Ittai from Gath: »Why should you go with us? Go back, and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. ²⁰ »In fact you came to us just yesterday. Should I make you wander around with me when I do not even know where I am going? Go back and take your countrymen with you. May Jehovah always show you kindness.« ²¹ Ittai answered: »Your Majesty, I swear to you in the name of Jehovah that I will always go with you wherever you go, even if it means death.«

¹³ »Say to Amasa: ‘Are you my flesh and blood? May God strike me dead unless you are given Joab’s place to serve me always as the commander of the army.’«

¹ There was a famine for three successive years during David’s reign. David asked Jehovah for advice about it. Jehovah answered: »It is because of Saul and his family. They are guilty of murder because they killed the people of Gibeon.«

⁹ He turned them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged all seven of them on the mountain near the place where Jehovah was worshiped. This happened right at the beginning of the barley harvest.

²³ King Solomon took an oath by Jehovah, saying: »May God's punishment be on me if Adonijah does not give payment for these words with his life.

¹ Solomon loved many women. They were of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites. ² Jehovah warned the children of Israel about these nations. He said: »You are not to take wives from them and they are not to take wives from you. They will certainly turn your hearts to go after their gods.« Solomon loved his wives anyway.

² She sent a message to Elijah: »May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I do not do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets.«

²⁰ Elisha then left his bulls and ran after Elijah. He said: »Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye and then I will go with you.« Elijah answered, »All right, go back. I am not stopping you!«

¹⁰ Benhadad sent Ahab the following message: »May the gods strike me dead if there will be enough dust left from Samaria to give a handful to each soldier who follows me.«

² and on the way Elijah said to Elisha: »Stay here for Jehovah has ordered me to go to Bethel.« But Elisha answered: »I swear by my loyalty to the living God Jehovah and to you that I will not leave you.« So they went on to Bethel.

² and on the way Elijah said to Elisha: »Stay here for Jehovah has ordered me to go to Bethel.« But Elisha answered: »I swear by my loyalty to the living God Jehovah and to you that I will not leave you.« So they went on to Bethel. ³ A group of prophets who lived at Bethel asked Elisha: »Do you know that Jehovah is going to take your master away from you today?« »Yes, I know,« Elisha answered. »But let us not talk about it.« ⁴ Then Elijah said to Elisha: »Stay here for Jehovah has ordered me to go to Jericho.« But Elisha answered: »I swear by my loyalty to the living God Jehovah and to you that I will not leave you.« So the two of them went on to Jericho. ⁵ A group of prophets who lived at Jericho went to Elisha and asked him: »Do you know that Jehovah is going to take your master away from you today?« »Yes, I know,« Elisha answered. »But let us not talk about it.« ⁶ Then Elijah said to Elisha: »Stay here for Jehovah has ordered me to go to the Jordan River.« But Elisha answered: »I swear by my loyalty to the living God Jehovah and to you that I will not leave you.« So they went on,

¹ The widow of a member of a group of prophets said to Elisha: »My husband has died! As you know, he was a man who respected God. A man to whom he owed money came to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband's debt.«

¹ Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: »By the living Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.« ² Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: ³ »Go east from here and hide by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. ⁴ »You will drink from the brook. I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.« ⁵ So he did as Jehovah said, living by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. ⁶ The ravens took him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. And he drank water from the brook. ⁷ Now after a time the brook became dry, because there was no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: ⁹ »Go now to Zarephath, in Zidon, and live there. I have given orders to a widow woman there to see that you have food.« ¹⁰ He went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, he saw a widow woman gathering sticks. He said to her: »Will you give me a little water in a vessel for my drink?« ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he said: »And get me some bread.« ¹² Then she said: »By the life of Jehovah your God, I have nothing but a little meal, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death.«

² So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. There was no food to be had in Samaria.

³¹ He exclaimed: »May God strike me dead if Elisha is not beheaded before the day is over!«

¹ Elisha told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he brought back to life: »Jehovah is sending a famine on the land. It will last for seven years. Leave with your family and go live somewhere else.« ² She followed his instructions and left with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years. ³ When the seven years ended she returned to Israel. She went to the king to ask that her house and her land be restored to her.

²¹ He said: »I was born with nothing (naked), and I will die with nothing. Jehovah gave, and now he has taken away. Blessed be the name of Jehovah!«

¹⁷ »Blessed is the person whom God corrects. Do not despise discipline from the Almighty.

⁴ »The Almighty’s arrows are in me. My spirit drinks in their poison. God’s terrors set themselves against me.

¹⁷ »‘You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me. Your forces come against me wave upon wave.

⁷ »Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

⁸ »You have shriveled me up. It has become a witness. And my leanness rises up against me. It testifies to my face.

²⁶ »You write down bitter things against me and make me inherit the sins of my youth.

⁶ then I want you to know that God has wronged me and surrounded me with his net.

²¹ »Have pity on me, my friends! Have pity on me because God's hand has struck me down.

³ »The holy ones on earth are the noble ones who fill me with joy.«

⁴ Day and night your hand lay heavily on me. My strength drained in the summer heat.

¹⁹ The righteous person has many troubles, but Jehovah rescues him from all of them.

³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit and he ceased to be wise and do good.

¹⁰ Listen, O daughter, pay attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father's house.

¹⁴ I have been plagued all day long, and chastened every morning.

² Your arrows have struck me. Your hand has struck me hard.

⁹ »I remained speechless. I did not open my mouth because you have done this. ¹⁰ »Remove the plague you laid upon me. My life is over because you apposed me with your hand.

¹⁵ Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death. I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair.

³⁰ If his descendants abandon my law and do not live by my rules, ³¹ if they violate my statutes and do not obey my commandments, ³² then with a rod I will punish their transgression and their crimes with beatings.

¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the labor of man. That he may bring forth food from the earth, ¹⁵ And wine which makes man's heart glad. That he may make his face shine with oil, and food, which sustains man's heart.

¹⁶ Furthermore, he called for a famine on the land: he broke the whole staff of bread.

³⁴ and fertile ground into a layer of salt because of the wickedness of the people living there.

⁵ He provides food for those who reverence him. He always remembers his covenant.

⁶³ I am a companion of all those who reverence you and keep your precepts.

⁵ Jehovah will lead those who turn away from their crooked ways with the workers of iniquity. Israel will have peace.

¹⁵ I will greatly bless all that Zion needs. I will satisfy its needy people with food.

¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due time.

⁷ He executes justice for the oppressed. He gives food to the hungry. Jehovah sets the prisoners free.

¹⁴ He is the one who brings peace to your borders and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times. A true brother is born for adversity.

²⁴ A man with friends must be friendly! A friend sticks closer than a brother.

⁸ Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food necessary for me.

¹ Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel. He will resettle them in their own country. Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

⁷ Is this your exultant city founded in antiquity? Is this the city that sent its people to settle in distant lands?

¹³ »Until morning came, I thought you would crush my bones just like a hungry lion; both night and day you make an end of me.

²¹ »‘You will think in your heart: ‘Who brought these children to birth? I am barren (sterile) and bereaved of my children. I am an exiled wonderer. Who gave birth to these? From where did these come?’

¹⁰ »As the rain and the snow come down from the sky, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹⁹ »Your own wickedness will correct you. Your apostasies (unfaithful ways) will punish you! You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you when you abandon Jehovah your God! You do not respect (reverence) me,« says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

¹ Jehovah spoke his word about the drought to Jeremiah:

¹⁰ »This is what Jehovah says: ‘When Babylon's seventy years are over I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place.

¹⁴ I have become the laughingstock of all the peoples. I am their mocking song all the day. ¹⁵ He has made my life nothing but pain. He gives me bitterness in full measure. ¹⁶ He broke my teeth with crushed stones. I am bent low in the dust. ¹⁷ Peace has been removed far away from me. I do not remember what good is. ¹⁸ I said: »My strength is cut off, and my hope from Jehovah.« ¹⁹ Remember my trouble and my wandering, the bitterroot and the poison. ²⁰ Remember and bow (bend) (come down to my level) down deep within me.

¹⁵ All who go by make a noise with their hands at you. They make hisses, shaking their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem. They say: »Is this the town that was the crown of everything beautiful, the joy of all the earth?«

¹ I am the man who has seen trouble by the rod of his fury. ² By him I have been made to go in the dark and not in the light. ³ Truly against me his hand has been turned again and again all day long. ⁴ My flesh and my skin have been used up by him and my bones broken. ⁵ He built a wall against me, shutting me in with hardship and bitter sorrow. ⁶ He kept me in dark places, like those who have been dead a long time. ⁷ He built a wall around me so that I am unable to go out. He made a heavy chain for me. ⁸ Even when I send up a cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. ⁹ He blocked my way with cut stones. He twisted my roadways. ¹⁰ He is like a bear waiting for me, like a lion in secret places. ¹¹ He has turned me on one side. I have been pulled to bits and lay desolate. ¹² With his bow bent, he made me the target for his arrows. ¹³ He has let fly his arrows into the inmost parts of my body.

¹³ »Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful to me. I will stretch out my hand (use my power) against it, cut off its food supply, send a famine to it, and destroy its people and animals.«

²¹ ‘»This is what the Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will surely send four terrible punishments against Jerusalem. I will send wars, famines, wild animals, and plagues. They will destroy people and animals.

⁴⁷ The king spoke to Daniel: »It is true, your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you were able to reveal this secret.«

²⁹ »Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut into pieces. Their houses shall be made a dunghill. There is no other god that is able to deliver like this.«

³⁷ »Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol and honor the King of heaven. All his works are truth, and his ways justice. He is able to abase (humble) (subdue) those who walk in pride.«

²⁰ »Yes, the beasts of the field pant for you. The water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.«

⁶ »I also gave you cleanness of teeth (kept food from your teeth) in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you have not returned to me,« said Jehovah.

⁴ »I AM JEHOVAH YOUR GOD. I brought you out of Egypt. You have known no god besides me. There is no savior except me.

¹⁰ »The field is laid waste, the land mourns. The grain is destroyed, the new wine dried up, the oil fails. ¹¹ »Be ashamed you farmers. Cry you vinedressers. The wheat, the barley and the harvest of the field have perished.

¹⁶ »Is not the food consumed before our eyes? Is joy and gladness removed from the House of our God? ¹⁷ »The seeds rot under dirt clods. The storehouses are desolate. The barns are torn down because the grain has dried up. ¹⁸ »How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander about because they have no pasture. The flocks of sheep suffer. ¹⁹ »I cry to you Jehovah! For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame burned all the trees of the field.

² »You Bethlehem Ephrathah who are little to be among the thousands of Judah. Out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel! His origin is from of old, from everlasting (days of antiquity) (ancient times).

⁶ »The same for those who have turned back from following Jehovah, and those who have not sought Jehovah or inquired of Him.«

⁷ »The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will feed their flocks there. They will rest at night in the houses of Ashkelon. Jehovah their God will visit them and gather back the captive ones.«

²³ Jehovah of hosts said: »In those days it will come to pass, that ten men out of all the languages of the nations, will take hold of the skirt of the one who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.«

⁵ »I will approach you people for judgment! I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers and those acting fraudulently with the wages of the worker, the widow and the fatherless. I will be a speedy witness against those who swear falsely and take advantage of the stranger, and do not show me reverence,« said Jehovah of Hosts.

⁵ Salmon and Rahab were the father and mother of Boaz. Boaz and Ruth were the father and mother of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse,

¹¹ »‘Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:34) (1 Timothy 6:8) (Proverbs 30:8) (Psalm 37:25)

¹⁹ A scribe came to him and said: »Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.«

²⁰ »Anyone sown among the rocky places hears the word and immediately with joy receives it. ²¹ »There is no root in him. He endures for a while. When he has tribulation or persecution because of the word, he falls away.

³⁷ »He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

²² But hearing these words, the young man went away grieving, for he was very wealthy.

²⁵ »There were seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no children, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ »The same happened to the second, right on through the seventh. ²⁷ »After that the woman died.

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples: »If any man wants to follow me (be mine), let him deny (disown) himself, and take up his stake and follow me (Greek: akoloutheo moi, let him be following me) (accompany me) (be in the same way with me).

¹⁰ When he came to Jerusalem, the people were excited. They asked: »Who is this?«

²¹ Jesus lovingly looked at him and said: »You lack one thing. Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.« ²² He was very sad when he heard this for he had many possessions. Then he went away.

⁶⁸ »Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel. He has visited his people and brought them redemption. (Psalm 72:18)

¹² When he came near the gate of the city he saw people carrying a dead person. It was the only son of a widow. Many people were with her.

²⁵ Jesus turned to speak to the large crowd of people who were traveling with him: ²⁶ »You who come to me may not be my disciple unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and yourself. ²⁷ »Those who do not carry their own stake and come after me may not be my disciples. ²⁸ »If you plan to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost. Then you see if you have enough money to finish the job. ²⁹ »If you do not, you will not be able to finish the project after laying the foundation. Everyone who sees what happened will ridicule and poke fun of you. ³⁰ »‘You started and could not finish,’ they will say. ³¹ »When a king commands ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to defeat the other king. ³² »If he is not strong enough he will send messengers to the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still far away.« ³³ »Likewise,« concluded Jesus, »none of you may be my disciples unless you give up everything you have.«

⁴⁴ »They will knock you and your children down to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another. What’s more you do not know when this visit will take place.«

²⁸ They approached the village where they were going and he appeared to be going further.

²⁸ They approached the village where they were going and he appeared to be going further. ²⁹ They persuaded him not to go saying, »Abide with us. It is nearly evening and the day is almost gone.« He stayed with them.

⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples returned to their old ways. They did not walk with him anymore. ⁶⁷ Jesus asked the twelve: »Will you also go away?« ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him: »Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life! ⁶⁹ »We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.«

³⁷ Peter said: »Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.«

⁴² They continued devoting themselves to doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

²³ When he arrived he saw the grace of God and was glad. He exhorted them all to remain true to the Lord as their only purpose of heart.

³⁴ Some men joined themselves to him and believed. Included among the believers were Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

²⁴ »I do not consider my life of any account. It is not dear to me so that I may finish the race, and I may accomplish the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to preach the good news of the grace of God.

³⁷ They all wept profusely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him. (embraced him) (hugged him) (Genesis 45:14)

¹³ Why do you weep and break my heart? Paul answered: »For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.« ¹⁴ He would not be dissuaded. So we ceased, saying: The will of God be done!

¹⁶ And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? We are the temple of the living God. God said: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Leviticus 26:12) (Zechariah 8:8) ¹⁷ Therefore come out from among them and be separate (set off) (severed from them) (excluded from them), said Jehovah. Do not touch the unclean thing and I will receive you. (Isaiah 52:11) (Jeremiah 51:45) ¹⁸ I will be a Father to you, and you will be to me sons and daughters, said Jehovah God the Almighty. (Hosea 1:10)

²² Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

² Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. ³ Then it will go well with you, and you may live long on the earth.

¹⁸ I have all things, and prosper: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you. It is an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. ¹⁹ My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty strength.

¹⁸ Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

²⁴ You know that God will give you the reward of the inheritance when you serve the Master, Christ.

⁹ All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God,

⁹ Let a widow be put on the list if she is under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,

⁸ We should be content with having food and covering.

¹⁶ The Lord grants mercy to the house of Onesiphorus: for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains. ¹⁷ When he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant him to find the mercy of God in that day, and in how many things he ministered at Ephesus, you know very well.

¹⁰ For Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

³⁸ »My righteous people will live by faith. If any of them turn back, I will not be pleased with them.« ³⁹ We are not people who turn back and are destroyed. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

⁶ »Jehovah disciplines those he loves. In fact he scourges every son (child) he receives.«

¹⁰ They disciplined us for a few days for their own pleasure. He disciplines for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. ¹¹ Now no discipline for the present seems to be joyous. In fact it seems grievous! Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained.

¹¹ Now no discipline for the present seems to be joyous. In fact it seems grievous! Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained.

¹² Maintain fine behavior among the nations. That way when they speak badly about you, they may see your good works and glorify God in the day of visitation (inspection).

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us. If they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it made it plain that they all are not of us.

⁸ »I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,« says Jehovah (YHWH) God, »the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty (all ruling) (universal sovereign).« (Isaiah 48:12)

⁴ These are they who were not defiled with women. They are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed (bought) from among mankind. They are the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

²² I saw no temple there: for the Jehovah God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple.