the Fifth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
May 18 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ruth 1-2
Chapter 1
Naomi Widowed
1 Now it came about in the days (C1)when the judges (F1)governed, that there was (C2)a famine in the land. And a man (C3)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab (F2)with his wife and his two sons.2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they (C1)entered the land of Moab and remained there.3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.4 And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.5 Then (F1)both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had (C1)visited His people by (C2)giving them food.7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to (F1)your mother's house. (C1)May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.9 "May the LORD grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept.10 However, they said to her, "No, but we will return with you to your people."11 But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that (C1)they may be your husbands?12 "Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons,13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because (C1)the hand of the LORD has come out against me."
Ruth's Loyalty
14 And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.15 Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her (C1)gods; return after your sister-in-law."16 But Ruth said, "Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.17 "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May (C1)the LORD do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates (F1)me from you."18 When (C1)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.
19 So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, (C1)all the city was stirred because of them, and (F1)the women said, "Is this Naomi?"20 But she said to them, "Do not call me (F1)Naomi; call me (F2)Mara, for (F3)(C1)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.21 "I went away full, but (C1)the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me and (F1)the Almighty has afflicted me?"
22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at (C1)the beginning of barley harvest.
Chapter 2
Ruth Gleans in Boaz's Field
1 Now Naomi had (F1)a relative of her husband, a (F2)man of great wealth, of the family of (C1)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and (C1)glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."3 So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and (F1)she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "(C1)May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you."5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was (F1)in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"6 And the servant (F1)in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while."
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "(F1)Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here.9 "Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the (F1)water jars and drink from what the servants draw."10 Then she (C1)fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.12 "(C1)May the LORD reward your (F1)work, and may your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, (C2)under whose wings you have come to take refuge."13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken (F1)kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants."
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, "(F1)Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied (C1)and had some left.15 When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not (F1)insult her.16 "Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her."
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an (F1)ephah of barley.18 And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and (C1)gave (F1)Naomi what she had left after (F2)she was satisfied.19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who (C1)took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz."20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "(C1)May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative; he is one of our (C2)redeemers."21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "(F1)Furthermore, he said to me, 'You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.'"22 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field."23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until (C1)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Psalms 47
Chapter 47
God, the King of the Earth.
1 (C1)Clap your hands, all you peoples;
(C2)Shout to God with a voice of joy.
2 For the LORD Most High is to be (C1)feared,
A (C2)great King over all the earth.
3 He (C1)subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our (C1)inheritance for us,
The (C2)pride of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 God has (C1)ascended (F1)with a shout,
The LORD, (F1)with the (C2)sound of a trumpet.
6 (C1)Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to (C2)our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the (C1)King of all the earth;
Sing praises (C2)with a psalm of wisdom.
8 God (C1)reigns over the nations,
God (F1)sits on (C2)His holy throne.
9 The (F1)(C1)princes of the people have assembled as the (C2)people of the God of Abraham,
For the (C3)shields of the earth belong to God;
He is (C4)highly exalted.
Acts 25
Chapter 25
Paul before Festus
1 Festus, then, after arriving in (C1)the province, went up to Jerusalem from (C2)Caesarea three days later.2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews (C1)brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with (F1)Festus,3 requesting a (F1)concession against (F2)Paul, that he might (F3)have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, (C1)setting an ambush to kill him on the way).4 Festus then (C1)answered that Paul (C2)was being kept in custody in (C3)Caesarea, and that he himself was about to leave shortly.5 "Therefore," he (*)said, "have the influential men among you (F1)go there with me, and if there is anything wrong (F2)about the man, have them bring charges against him."
6 After Festus had spent no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to (C1)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on (C2)the tribunal and ordered that Paul be brought.7 After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing (C1)many, and serious, charges against him (C2)which they could not prove,8 while Paul said in his own defense, "(C1)I have not done anything wrong either against the Law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against Caesar."9 But Festus, (C1)wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul and said, "(C2)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and (F1)stand trial before me on these charges?"10 But Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar's (C1)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know.11 "If, therefore, I am in the wrong and have committed something deserving death, I am not trying to avoid execution; but if there is nothing to the accusations which these men are bringing against me, no one can hand me over to them. I (C1)appeal to Caesar."12 Then when Festus had conferred with (F1)his council, he answered, "You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go."
13 Now when several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in (C1)Caesarea, paying their respects to Festus.14 And while they were spending many days there, Festus presented Paul's case to the king, saying, "There is a man who was (C1)left as a prisoner by Felix;15 and when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews (C1)brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.16 "I (C1)replied to them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any person before (C2)the accused meets his accusers face to face, and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges.17 "So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on (C1)the tribunal and ordered that the man be brought.18 "When the accusers stood up, they did not begin bringing any charges (F1)against him of crimes that I suspected,19 but they simply had some (C1)points of disagreement with him about their own (F1)(C2)religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.20 "And (C1)being at a loss how to investigate (F1)such matters, I (F2)asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these matters.21 "But when Paul (C1)appealed to be held in custody for (F1)the Emperor's decision, I ordered that he be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar."22 Then (C1)Agrippa said to Festus, "I also would like to hear the man myself." "Tomorrow," he (*)said, "you shall hear him."
Paul before Agrippa
23 So, on the next day when (C1)Agrippa and (C1)Bernice came amid great pomp and entered the auditorium, (F1)accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought before them.24 And Festus (*)said, "King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen present with us, you see this man about whom (C1)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that (C2)he ought not to live any longer.25 "But I found that he had committed (C1)nothing deserving death; and since he himself (C2)appealed to (F1)the Emperor, I decided to send him.26 "(F1)Yet, I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore, I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.27 "For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him as well."
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