so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand.

But you must return ¹  to your God, by maintaining love and justice, and by waiting ²  for your God to return to you. ³ 

Before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, I solemnly charge you to carry out these commands without prejudice or favoritism of any kind. ¹ 

maintain ¹  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ²  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ³ 

Then Boaz said, “When ¹  you acquire the field ²  from Naomi, ³  you must also ⁴  acquire Ruth the Moabite, ⁵  the wife of our deceased relative, ⁶  in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.” ⁷ 

I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property ¹  so the name of the deceased might not disappear ²  from among his relatives and from his village. ³  You are witnesses today.”

so that ¹  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ²  you, but have always treated you well ³  before sending you away ⁴  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ⁵ 

“‘If your brother ¹  becomes impoverished and is indebted to you, ²  you must support ³  him; he must live ⁴  with you like a foreign resident. ⁵ 

but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness ¹  and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against ²  the inhabitants of the land.

If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you ¹  as he promised ²  your ancestors.

for both of you ¹  rebelled against me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the desert of Zin when you did not show me proper respect ²  among the Israelites.

He prayed: ¹  “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³ 

I will leave ¹  his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me ²  in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. ³ 

But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of ¹  his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. ² 

O Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, maintain the motives of your people and keep them devoted to you. ¹ 

and prayed: ¹  “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³ 

But the Lord was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty ¹  because of the promise ²  he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty. ³ 

Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote ¹  justice at the city gate! ²  Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on ³  those who are left from ⁴  Joseph. ⁵ 

And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals ¹  in the things they boast about.

and maintain good conduct ¹  among the non-Christians, ²  so that though ³  they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears. ⁴