11 And it cometh to pass, in the days of the judging of the judges, that there is a famine in the land, and there goeth a man from Beth-Lehem-Judah to sojourn in the fields of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the name of the man 'is' Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites from Beth-Lehem-Judah; and they come into the fields of Moab, and are there. 3 And Elimelech husband of Naomi dieth, and she is left, she and her two sons; 4 and they take to them wives, Moabitesses: the name of the one 'is' Orpah, and the name of the second Ruth; and they dwell there about ten years. 5 And they die also, both of them—Mahlon and Chilion—and the woman is left of her two children and of her husband.
6 And she riseth, she and her daughters-in-law, and turneth back from the fields of Moab, for she hath heard in the fields of Moab that God hath looked after His people,—to give to them bread. 7 And she goeth out from the place where she hath been, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they go in the way to turn back unto the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi saith to her two daughters-in-law, 'Go, turn back, each to the house of her mother; Jehovah doth with you kindness as ye have done with the dead, and with me; 9 Jehovah doth grant to you, and find ye rest each in the house of her husband;' and she kisseth them, and they lift up their voice and weep. 10 And they say to her, 'Surely with thee we go back to thy people.' 11 And Naomi saith, 'Turn back, my daughters; why do ye go with me? are there yet to me sons in my bowels that they have been to you for husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go, for I am too aged to be to a husband; though I had said, There is for me hope, also, I have been to-night to a husband, and also I have borne sons: 13 for them do ye wait till that they grow up? for them do ye shut yourselves up, not to be to a husband? nay, my daughters, for more bitter to me than to you, for the hand of Jehovah hath gone out against me.' 14 And they lift up their voice, and weep again, and Orpah kisseth her mother-in-law, and Ruth hath cleaved to her. 15 And she saith, 'Lo, thy sister-in-law hath turned back unto her people, and unto her god, turn thou back after thy sister-in-law.' 16 And Ruth saith, 'Urge me not to leave thee—to turn back from after thee; for whither thou goest I go, and where thou lodgest I lodge; thy people 'is' my people, and thy God my God. 17 Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add—for death itself doth part between me and thee.' 18 And she seeth that she is strengthening herself to go with her, and she ceaseth to speak unto her;
19 and they go both of them till their coming in to Beth-Lehem; and it cometh to pass at their coming in to Beth-Lehem, that all the city is moved at them, and they say, 'Is this Naomi?' 20 And she saith unto them, 'Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly to me, 21 I went out full, and empty hath Jehovah brought me back, why do ye call me Naomi, and Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath done evil to me?' 22 And Naomi turneth back, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who hath turned back from the fields of Moab, and they have come in to Beth-Lehem at the commencement of barley-harvest.
21 And Naomi hath an acquaintance of her husband's, a man mighty in wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name 'is' Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess saith unto Naomi, 'Let me go, I pray thee, into the field, and I gather among the ears of corn after him in whose eyes I find grace;' and she saith to her, 'Go, my daughter.' 3 And she goeth and cometh and gathereth in a field after the reapers, and her chance happeneth—the portion of the field is Boaz's who 'is' of the family of Elimelech.
4 And lo, Boaz hath come from Beth-Lehem, and saith to the reapers, 'Jehovah 'is' with you;' and they say to him, 'Jehovah doth bless thee.' 5 And Boaz saith to his young man who is set over the reapers, 'Whose 'is' this young person?' 6 And the young man who is set over the reapers answereth and saith, 'A young woman—Moabitess—she 'is', who came back with Naomi from the fields of Moab, 7 and she saith, Let me glean, I pray thee—and I have gathered among the sheaves after the reapers; and she cometh and remaineth since the morning and till now; she sat in the house a little. 8 And Boaz saith unto Ruth, 'Hast thou not heard, my daughter? go not to glean in another field, and also, pass not over from this, and thus thou dost cleave to my young women: 9 thine eyes 'are' on the field which they reap, and thou hast gone after them; have not I charged the young men not to touch thee? when thou art athirst then thou hast gone unto the vessels, and hast drunk from that which the young men draw.' 10 And she falleth on her face, and boweth herself to the earth, and saith unto him, 'Wherefore have I found grace in thine eyes, to discern me, and I a stranger?' 11 And Boaz answereth and saith to her, 'It hath thoroughly been declared to me all that thou hast done with thy mother-in-law, after the death of thy husband, and thou dost leave thy father, and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and dost come in unto a people which thou hast not known heretofore. 12 Jehovah doth recompense thy work, and thy reward is complete from Jehovah, God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast come to take refuge.' 13 And she saith, 'Let me find grace in thine eyes, my lord, because thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken unto the heart of thy maid-servant, and I—I am not as one of thy maid-servants.' 14 And Boaz saith to her, 'At meal-time come nigh hither, and thou hast eaten of the bread, and dipped thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sitteth at the side of the reapers, and he reacheth to her roasted corn, and she eateth, and is satisfied, and leaveth. 15 And she riseth to glean, and Boaz chargeth his young men, saying, 'Even between the sheaves she doth glean, and ye do not cause her to blush; 16 and also ye do surely cast to her of the handfuls—and have left, and she hath gleaned, and ye do not push against her.'
17 And she gleaneth in the field till the evening, and beateth out that which she hath gleaned, and it is about an ephah of barley; 18 and she taketh 'it' up, and goeth into the city, and her mother-in-law seeth that which she hath gleaned, and she bringeth out and giveth to her that which she left from her satiety. 19 And her mother-in-law saith to her, 'Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? may he who is discerning thee be blessed.' And she declareth to her mother-in-law with whom she hath wrought, and saith, 'The name of the man with whom I have wrought to-day 'is' Boaz.' 20 And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law, 'Blessed 'is' he of Jehovah who hath not forsaken His kindness with the living and with the dead;' and Naomi saith to her, 'The man is a relation of ours; he 'is' of our redeemers.' 21 And Ruth the Moabitess saith, 'Also he surely said unto me, Near the young people whom I have thou dost cleave till they have completed the whole of the harvest which I have.' 22 And Naomi saith unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, 'Good, my daughter, that thou goest out with his young women, and they come not against thee in another field.' 23 And she cleaveth to the young women of Boaz to glean, till the completion of the barley-harvest, and of the wheat-harvest, and she dwelleth with her mother-in-law.
31 And Naomi her mother-in-law saith to her, 'My daughter, do not I seek for thee rest, that it may be well with thee? 2 and now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night, 3 and thou hast bathed, and anointed thyself, and put thy garments upon thee, and gone down to the threshing-floor; let not thyself be known to the man till he complete to eat and to drink; 4 and it cometh to pass when he lieth down, that thou hast known the place where he lieth down, and hast gone in, and uncovered his feet, and lain down,—and he doth declare to thee that which thou dost do.' 5 And she saith unto her, 'All that thou sayest—I do.'
6 And she goeth down 'to' the threshing-floor, and doth according to all that her mother-in-law commanded her 7 And Boaz eateth and drinketh, and his heart is glad; and he goeth in to lie down at the end of the heap; and she cometh in gently, and uncovereth his feet, and lieth down. 8 And it cometh to pass, at the middle of the night, that the man trembleth, and turneth himself, and lo, a woman is lying at his feet. 9 And he saith, 'Who 'art' thou?' and she saith, 'I 'am' Ruth thy handmaid, and thou hast spread thy skirt over thy handmaid, for thou 'art' a redeemer.' 10 And he saith, 'Blessed 'art' thou of Jehovah, my daughter; thou hast dealt more kindly at the latter end than at the beginning—not to go after the young men, either poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, fear not, all that thou sayest I do to thee, for all the gate of my people doth know that thou 'art' a virtuous woman. 12 And now, surely, true, that I 'am' a redeemer, but also there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Lodge to night, and it hath been in the morning, if he doth redeem thee, well: he redeemeth; and if he delight not to redeem thee, then I have redeemed thee—I; Jehovah liveth! lie down till the morning.'
14 And she lieth down at his feet till the morning, and riseth before one doth discern another; and he saith, 'Let it not be known that the woman hath come into the floor.' 15 And he saith, 'Give the covering which 'is' on thee, and keep hold on it;' and she keepeth hold on it, and he measureth six 'measures' of barley, and layeth 'it' on her; and he goeth into the city. 16 And she cometh in unto her mother-in-law, and she saith, 'Who 'art' thou, my daughter?' and she declareth to her all that the man hath done to her. 17 And she saith, 'These six 'measures' of barley he hath given to me, for he said, Thou dost not go in empty unto thy mother-in-law.' 18 And she saith, 'Sit still, my daughter, till thou dost know how the matter falleth, for the man doth not rest except he hath completed the matter to-day.'
41 And Boaz hath gone up to the gate, and sitteth there, and lo, the redeemer is passing by of whom Boaz had spoken, and he saith, 'Turn aside, sit down here, such a one, such a one;' and he turneth aside and sitteth down. 2 And he taketh ten men of the elders of the city, and saith, 'Sit down here;' and they sit down. 3 And he saith to the redeemer, 'A portion of the field which 'is' to our brother, to Elimelech, hath Naomi sold, who hath come back from the fields of Moab; 4 and I said, I uncover thine ear, saying, Buy before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people; if thou dost redeem—redeem, and if none doth redeem—declare to me, and I know, for there is none save thee to redeem, and I after thee.' And he saith, I redeem 'it'.' 5 And Boaz saith, 'In the day of thy buying the field from the hand of Naomi, then from Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead, thou hast bought 'it', to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance.' 6 And the redeemer saith, 'I am not able to redeem 'it' for myself, lest I destroy mine inheritance; redeem for thyself—thou—my right of redemption, for I am not able to redeem.' 7 And this 'is' formerly in Israel for redemption and for changing, to establish anything: a man hath drawn off his sandal, and given 'it' to his neighbour, and this 'is' the testimony in Israel. 8 And the redeemer saith to Boaz, 'Buy 'it' for thyself,' and draweth off his sandal.
9 And Boaz saith to the elders, and 'to' all the people, 'Witnesses 'are' ye to-day that I have bought all that 'is' to Elimelech, and all that 'is' to Chilion and Mahlon, from the hand of Naomi; 10 and also Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Mahlon, I have bought to myself for a wife, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance; and the name of the dead is not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; witnesses ye 'are' to-day.' 11 And all the people who 'are' in the gate say—also the elders—'Witnesses! Jehovah make the woman who is coming in unto thy house as Rachel and as Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and do thou virtuously in Ephrathah, and proclaim the Name in Beth-Lehem; 12 and let thy house be as the house of Pharez (whom Tamar bare to Judah), of the seed which Jehovah doth give to thee of this young woman.'
13 And Boaz taketh Ruth, and she becometh his wife, and he goeth in unto her, and Jehovah giveth to her conception, and she beareth a son. 14 And the women say unto Naomi, 'Blessed 'is' Jehovah who hath not let a redeemer cease to thee to-day, and his name is proclaimed in Israel, 15 and he hath been to thee for a restorer of life, and for a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law who hath loved thee—who is better to thee than seven sons—hath borne him.' 16 And Naomi taketh the lad, and layeth him in her bosom, and is to him for a nurse; 17 and the neighbouring women give to him a name, saying, 'There hath been a son born to Naomi,' and they call his name Obed; he 'is' father of Jesse, father of David. 18 And these are genealogies of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19 and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminidab, 20 and Amminidab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, 21 and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22 and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
81 And it came to pass thereafter, that he was going through every city and village, preaching and proclaiming good news of the reign of God, and the twelve 'are' with him, 2 and certain women, who were healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary who is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone forth, 3 and Joanna wife of Chuza, steward of Herod, and Susanna, and many others, who were ministering to him from their substance.
4 And a great multitude having gathered, and those who from city and city were coming unto him, he spake by a simile: 5 'The sower went forth to sow his seed, and in his sowing some indeed fell beside the way, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the heaven did devour it. 6 'And other fell upon the rock, and having sprung up, it did wither, through not having moisture. 7 'And other fell amidst the thorns, and the thorns having sprung up with it, did choke it. 8 'And other fell upon the good ground, and having sprung up, it made fruit an hundred fold.' These things saying, he was calling, 'He having ears to hear—let him hear.' 9 And his disciples were questioning him, saying, 'What may this simile be?' 10 And he said, 'To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of God, and to the rest in similes; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 'And this is the simile: The seed is the word of God, 12 and those beside the way are those hearing, then cometh the Devil, and taketh up the word from their heart, lest having believed, they may be saved. 13 'And those upon the rock: They who, when they may hear, with joy do receive the word, and these have no root, who for a time believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 'And that which fell to the thorns: These are they who have heard, and going forth, through anxieties, and riches, and pleasures of life, are choked, and bear not to completion. 15 'And that in the good ground: These are they, who in an upright and good heart, having heard the word, do retain 'it', and bear fruit in continuance.
16 'And no one having lighted a lamp doth cover it with a vessel, or under a couch doth put 'it'; but upon a lamp-stand he doth put 'it', that those coming in may see the light, 17 for nothing is secret, that shall not become manifest, nor hid, that shall not be known, and become manifest. 18 'See, therefore, how ye hear, for whoever may have, there shall be given to him, and whoever may not have, also what he seemeth to have, shall be taken from him.'
19 And there came unto him his mother and brethren, and they were not able to get to him because of the multitude, 20 and it was told him, saying, 'Thy mother and thy brethren do stand without, wishing to see thee;' 21 and he answering said unto them, 'My mother and my brethren! they are those who the word of God are hearing, and doing.'
22 And it came to pass, on one of the days, that he himself went into a boat with his disciples, and he said unto them, 'We may go over to the other side of the lake;' and they set forth, 23 and as they are sailing he fell deeply asleep, and there came down a storm of wind to the lake, and they were filling, and were in peril. 24 And having come near, they awoke him, saying, 'Master, master, we perish;' and he, having arisen, rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there came a calm, 25 and he said to them, 'Where is your faith?' and they being afraid did wonder, saying unto one another, 'Who, then, is this, that even the winds he doth command, and the water, and they obey him?'
(Read Luke 8:1-3)
We are here told what Christ made the constant business of his life, it was teaching the gospel. Tidings of the kingdom of God are glad tidings, and what Christ came to bring. Certain women attended upon him who ministered to him of their substance. It showed the mean condition to which the Saviour humbled himself, that he needed their kindness, and his great humility, that he accepted it. Though rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.
(Read Luke 8:4-21)
There are many very needful and excellent rules and cautions for hearing the word, in the parable of the sower, and the application of it. Happy are we, and for ever indebted to free grace, if the same thing that is a parable to others, with which they are only amused, is a plain truth to us, by which we are taught and governed. We ought to take heed of the things that will hinder our profiting by the word we hear; to take heed lest we hear carelessly and slightly, lest we entertain prejudices against the word we hear; and to take heed to our spirits after we have heard the word, lest we lose what we have gained. The gifts we have, will be continued to us or not, as we use them for the glory of God, and the good of our brethren. Nor is it enough not to hold the truth in unrighteousness; we should desire to hold forth the word of life, and to shine, giving light to all around. Great encouragement is given to those who prove themselves faithful hearers of the word, by being doers of the work. Christ owns them as his relations.
(Read Luke 8:22-40)
Those that put to sea in a calm, even at Christ's word, must yet prepare for a storm, and for great peril in that storm. There is no relief for souls under a sense of guilt, and fear of wrath, but to go to Christ, and call him Master, and say, I am undone, if thou dost not help me. When our dangers are over, it becomes us to take to ourselves the shame of our own fears, and to give Christ the glory of our deliverance. We may learn much out of this history concerning the world of infernal, malignant spirits, which though not working now exactly in the same way as then, yet all must at all times carefully guard against. And these malignant spirits are very numerous. They have enmity to man and all his comforts. Those under Christ's government are sweetly led with the bands of love; those under the devil's government are furiously driven. Oh what a comfort it is to the believer, that all the powers of darkness are under the control of the Lord Jesus! It is a miracle of mercy, if those whom Satan possesses, are not brought to destruction and eternal ruin. Christ will not stay with those who slight him; perhaps he may no more return to them, while others are waiting for him, and glad to receive him.
