Ruth 3

• 1. One day Naomi said to Ruth, "My daughter, it's time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for.
• 2. Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he's been very kind by letting you gather grain with his workers. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor.
• 3. Now do as I tell you--take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don't let Boaz see you until he has finished his meal.
• 4. Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do."
• 5. "I will do everything you say," Ruth replied.
• 6. So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.
• 7. After Boaz had finished his meal and was in good spirits, he lay down beside the heap of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
• 8. Around midnight, Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet!
• 9. "Who are you?" he demanded. "I am your servant Ruth," she replied. "Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer."
• 10. "The LORD bless you, my daughter!" Boaz exclaimed. "You are showing more family loyalty now than ever by not running after a younger man, whether rich or poor.
• 11. Now don't worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are an honorable woman.
• 12. But there is one problem. While it is true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am.
• 13. Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, then let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the LORD lives, I will marry you! Now lie down here until morning."
• 14. So Ruth lay at Boaz's feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz said, "No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor."
• 15. Boaz also said to her, "Bring your cloak and spread it out." He measured out six scoops of barley into the cloak and helped her put it on her back. Then Boaz returned to the town.
• 16. When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "What happened, my daughter?" Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her,
• 17. and she added, "He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, `Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'"
• 18. Then Naomi said to her, "Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won't rest until he has followed through on this. He will settle it today."

Ruth 4

• 1. So Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. When the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, Boaz called out to him, "Come over here, friend. I want to talk to you." So they sat down together.
• 2. Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses.
• 3. And Boaz said to the family redeemer, "You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
• 4. I felt that I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don't want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you." The man replied, "All right, I'll redeem it."
• 5. Then Boaz told him, "Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way, she can have children who will carry on her husband's name and keep the land in the family."
• 6. "Then I can't redeem it," the family redeemer replied, "because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it."
• 7. In those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction.
• 8. So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, "You buy the land."
• 9. Then Boaz said to the leaders and to the crowd standing around, "You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.
• 10. And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today."
• 11. Then the leaders and all the people standing there replied, "We are witnesses! May the LORD make the woman who is now coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you be great in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
• 12. And may the LORD give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah."
• 13. So Boaz married Ruth and took her home to live with him. When he slept with her, the LORD enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.
• 14. And the women of the town said to Naomi, "Praise the LORD who has given you a family redeemer today! May he be famous in Israel.
• 15. May this child restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you so much and who has been better to you than seven sons!"
• 16. Naomi took care of the baby and cared for him as if he were her own.
• 17. The neighbor women said, "Now at last Naomi has a son again!" And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
• 18. This is their family line beginning with their ancestor Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron.
• 19. Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab.
• 20. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
• 21. Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed.
• 22. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.

Acts 28

• 1. Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta.
• 2. The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us and warm us.
• 3. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, fastened itself onto his hand.
• 4. The people of the island saw it hanging there and said to each other, "A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live."
• 5. But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.
• 6. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.
• 7. Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us courteously and fed us for three days.
• 8. As it happened, Publius's father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him.
• 9. Then all the other sick people on the island came and were cured.
• 10. As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people put on board all sorts of things we would need for the trip.
• 11. It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island--an Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead.
• 12. Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days.
• 13. From there we sailed across to Rhegium. A day later a south wind began blowing, so the following day we sailed up the coast to Puteoli.
• 14. There we found some believers, who invited us to stay with them seven days. And so we came to Rome.
• 15. The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
• 16. When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier.
• 17. Three days after Paul's arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them, "Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors.
• 18. The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, for they found no cause for the death sentence.
• 19. But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people.
• 20. I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could tell you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel--the Messiah--has already come."
• 21. They replied, "We have heard nothing against you. We have had no letters from Judea or reports from anyone who has arrived here.
• 22. But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about these Christians is that they are denounced everywhere."
• 23. So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul's house. He told them about the Kingdom of God and taught them about Jesus from the Scriptures--from the five books of Moses and the books of the prophets. He began lecturing in the morning and went on into the evening.
• 24. Some believed and some didn't.
• 25. But after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: "The Holy Spirit was right when he said to our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet,
• 26. 'Go and say to my people, You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.
• 27. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes--so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.'
• 28. So I want you to realize that this salvation from God is also available to the Gentiles, and they will accept it."
• 29. See Footnote
• 30. For the next two years, Paul lived in his own rented house. He welcomed all who visited him,
• 31. proclaiming the Kingdom of God with all boldness and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.

Jeremiah 38

• 1. Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He was saying,
• 2. "This is what the LORD says: Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live.
• 3. The LORD also says: The city of Jerusalem will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it."
• 4. So these officials went to the king and said, "Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people, too. This man is a traitor!"
• 5. So King Zedekiah agreed. "All right," he said. "Do as you like. I will do nothing to stop you."
• 6. So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.
• 7. But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important palace official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate,
• 8. so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him.
• 9. "My lord the king," he said, "these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone."
• 10. So the king told Ebed-melech, "Take along thirty of my men, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies."
• 11. So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope.
• 12. Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, "Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes." Then when Jeremiah was ready,
• 13. they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard--the palace prison--where he remained.
• 14. One day King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah to meet him at the third entrance of the LORD's Temple. "I want to ask you something," the king said. "And don't try to hide the truth."
• 15. Jeremiah said, "If I tell you the truth, you will kill me. And if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway."
• 16. So King Zedekiah secretly promised him, "As surely as the LORD our Creator lives, I will not kill you or hand you over to the men who want you dead."
• 17. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "The LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: If you surrender to Babylon, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned.
• 18. But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground."
• 19. "But I am afraid to surrender," the king said, "for the Babylonians will hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me?"
• 20. Jeremiah replied, "You won't be handed over to them if you choose to obey the LORD. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.
• 21. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me:
• 22. All the women left in your palace will be brought out and given to the officers of the Babylonian army. Then the women will taunt you, saying, `What fine friends you have! They have betrayed and misled you. When your feet sank in the mud, they left you to your fate!'
• 23. All your wives and children will be led out to the Babylonians, and you will not escape. You will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned."
• 24. Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Don't tell anyone you told me this, or you will die!
• 25. My officials may hear that I spoke to you. Then they may say to you, `Tell us what you and the king were talking about. If you don't tell us, we will kill you.'
• 26. If this happens, just tell them you begged me not to send you back to Jonathan's dungeon, for fear you would die there."
• 27. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the king's officials came to Jeremiah and asked him why the king had called for him. But Jeremiah followed the king's instructions, and they left without finding out the truth. No one had overheard the conversation between Jeremiah and the king.
• 28. And Jeremiah remained a prisoner in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

New Living Translation: 222 of 365 days.