The Genealogy of Jesus.^* 1^a The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.^*

2^b Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.^c 3Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.^d Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4^e Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5^f Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, 6^g Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 7^{* h} Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. 8Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. 9Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos,^* Amos the father of Josiah. 11Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

12ⁱ After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.^*

6She and her daughters-in-law then prepared to go back from the plateau of Moab because word had reached her there that the LORD had seen to his people’s needs^* and given them food. 7She and her two daughters-in-law left the place where they had been living. On the road back to the land of Judah, 8Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s house.^* May the LORD show you the same kindness as you have shown to the deceased and to me. 9^a May the LORD guide each of you to find a husband and a home in which you will be at rest.” She kissed them good-bye, but they wept aloud, 10crying, “No! We will go back with you, to your people.” 11Naomi replied, “Go back, my daughters. Why come with me? Have I other sons in my womb who could become your husbands?^* 12Go, my daughters, for I am too old to marry again. Even if I had any such hope, or if tonight I had a husband and were to bear sons, 13would you wait for them and deprive yourselves of husbands until those sons grew up? No, my daughters, my lot is too bitter for you, because the LORD has extended his hand against me.” 14Again they wept aloud; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth clung to her.

15“See now,” she said, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!” 16^* But Ruth said, “Do not press me to go back and abandon you!

Wherever you go I will go,

wherever you lodge I will lodge.

Your people shall be my people

and your God, my God.

17Where you die I will die,

and there be buried.

May the LORD do thus to me, and more, if even death separates me from you!” 18Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her.

The Return to Bethlehem. 19So they went on together until they reached Bethlehem. On their arrival there, the whole town was excited about them, and the women asked: “Can this be Naomi?” 20^b But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi [‘Sweet’]. Call me Mara [‘Bitter’], for the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21^{* c} I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why should you call me ‘Sweet,’ since the LORD has brought me to trial, and the Almighty has pronounced evil sentence on me.” 22Thus it was that Naomi came back with her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.^*

1But a shoot shall sprout from the stump^* of Jesse,

and from his roots a bud shall blossom.^a

2^* The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:^b

a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

A spirit of counsel and of strength,

a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,

3and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

Not by appearance shall he judge,

nor by hearsay shall he decide,

4But he shall judge the poor with justice,

and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted.^c

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.^d

5Justice shall be the band around his waist,

and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.^e

6^* Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;

The calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them.^f

7The cow and the bear shall graze,

together their young shall lie down;

the lion shall eat hay like the ox.^g

8The baby shall play by the viper’s den,

and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.

9They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,

as water covers the sea.

11^* If, then, perfection came through the levitical priesthood, on the basis of which the people received the law, what need would there still have been for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not reckoned according to the order of Aaron?^e 12When there is a change of priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well. 13Now he of whom these things are said^* belonged to a different tribe, of which no member ever officiated at the altar. 14It is clear that our Lord arose from Judah,^* and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.^f 15^* It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of Melchizedek, 16who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.^* 17For it is testified:

“You are a priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek.”^g

18On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness,^h 19for the law brought nothing to perfection; on the other hand, a better hope^* is introduced, through which we draw near to God.