The Book of

RUTH

Chapter 1

Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days awhen the judges 1governed, that there was ba famine in the land. And a certain man cof Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab 2with 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. Now they aentered the land of Moab and remained there.

3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.

4 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 1both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.

6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had avisited His people in bgiving 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 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. aMay 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 rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

10 And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that athey 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 should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,

13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is 1harder for me than for you, for athe hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.”

Ruth’s Loyalty

14 And they lifted up 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 agods; return after your sister-in-law.”

16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

17 “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may athe Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

18 When ashe saw that she was determined to go with her, she 1said no more to her.

19 So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, aall the city was stirred because of them, and 1the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

20 She said to them, “Do not call me 1Naomi; call me 2Mara, for 3athe Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

21 “I went out full, but athe Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and 1the 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 athe beginning of barley harvest.

Chapter 2

Ruth Gleans in Boaz’ Field

1 Now Naomi had 1a kinsman of her husband, a 2man of great wealth, of the family of aElimelech, whose name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and aglean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and 1she 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, “aMay the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.”

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was 1in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

6 The servant 1in 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.’ Thus 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, “1Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids.

9 “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the 1water jars and drink from what the servants draw.”

10 Then she afell 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…

The Book of

ESTHER

Chapter 1

The Banquets of the King

1 Now it took place in the days of aAhasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned bfrom India to 1Ethiopia over c127 provinces,

2 in those days as King Ahasuerus asat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in bSusa,

3 in the third year of his reign ahe gave a banquet for all his princes and attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence.

4 1And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.

5 When these days were completed, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the court of athe garden of the king’s palace.

6 There were hangings of fine white and violet linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble columns, and acouches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones.

7 Drinks were served in golden vessels of various kinds, and the royal wine was plentiful aaccording to the king’s 1bounty.

8 The drinking was done according to the law, there was no compulsion, for so the king had given orders to each official of his household that he should do according to the desires of each person.

9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the 1palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was amerry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,

11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal acrown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful.

12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. Then the king became very angry and his wrath burned within him.

13 Then the king said to athe wise men bwho understood the times—for it was the custom of the king so to speak before all who knew law and justice

14 and were close to him: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media awho 1had access to the king’s presence and sat in the first place in the kingdom—

15 “According to law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, because she did not 1obey the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”

16 In the presence of the king and the princes, Memucan said, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

17 “For the queen’s conduct will 1become known to all the women causing them 2to look with contempt on their husbands by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.’

18 “This day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s conduct will speak in the same way to all the king’s princes, and there will be plenty of contempt and anger.

19 “If it pleases the king, let a royal 1edict be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so athat it cannot 2be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to 3another who is more worthy than she.

20 “When the king’s edict which he will make is heard throughout all his kingdom, 1great as it is, then aall women will give honor to their husbands, great and small.”

21 This word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did 1as Memucan proposed.

22 So he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, ato each province according to its script and to every people according to their language, that every man should bbe the master in his own house and the one who speaks in the language of his own people.

Chapter 2

Vashti’s Successor Sought

1 After these things awhen the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and bwhat had been decreed against her.

2 Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “aLet beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

3 “Let the king appoint overseers in aall the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of bHegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and clet their cosmetics be given them.

4 “Then let the young lady who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

5 Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was aMordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,

6 awho had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.

7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is aEsther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was …