“Stop urging me to abandon you! 4
For wherever you go, I will go.
Wherever you live, I will live.
Your people will become my people,
and your God will become my God.
1:17 Wherever you die, I will die – and there I will be buried.
May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise! 5
Only death will be able to separate me from you!” 6
2:1 Now Naomi 10 had a relative 11 on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. 12 2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go 13 to the fields so I can gather 14 grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” 15 Naomi 16 replied, “You may go, my daughter.” 2:3 So Ruth 17 went and gathered grain in the fields 18 behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up 19 in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
2:4 Now at that very moment, 20 Boaz arrived from Bethlehem 21 and greeted 22 the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, 23 “May the Lord bless you!” 2:5 Boaz asked 24 his servant 25 in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?” 26 2:6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab. 2:7 She asked, 27 ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather 28 grain among the bundles?’ 29 Since she arrived she has been working hard 30 from this morning until now 31 – except for 32 sitting 33 in the resting hut 34 a short time.” 35
2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, 36 my dear! 37 Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not 38 go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside 39 my female workers. 40 2:9 Take note of 41 the field where the men 42 are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. 43 I will tell the men 44 to leave you alone. 45 When you are thirsty, you may go to 46 the water jars 47 and drink some of the water 48 the servants draw.” 49
2:10 Ruth 50 knelt before him with her forehead to the ground 51 and said to him, “Why are you so kind 52 and so attentive to me, 53 even though 54 I am a foreigner?” 55 2:11 Boaz replied to her, 56 “I have been given a full report of 57 all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left 58 your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. 59 2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! 60 May your acts of kindness be repaid fully 61 by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” 62 2:13 She said, “You really are being kind to me, 63 sir, 64 for you have reassured 65 and encouraged 66 me, your servant, 67 even though I am 68 not one of your servants!” 69
2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have 70 some food! Dip your bread 71 in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed 72 her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. 73 2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told 74 his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among 75 the bundles! Don’t chase her off! 76 2:16 Make sure you pull out 77 ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!” 78 2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed 79 what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds 80 of barley!
2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw 81 how much grain 82 she had gathered. Then Ruth 83 gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. 84 2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, 85 “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” 86 So Ruth 87 told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he 88 has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” 89 Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” 90 2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even 91 told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants 92 until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” 93 2:22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. 94 That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” 95 2:23 So Ruth 96 worked beside 97 Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. 98 After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. 99
3:1 At that time, 100 Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. 101 3:2 Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. 102 Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 103 3:3 So bathe yourself, 104 rub on some perfumed oil, 105 and get dressed up. 106 Then go down 107 to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal. 108 3:4 When he gets ready to go to sleep, 109 take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, 110 and lie down 111 beside him. 112 He will tell 113 you what you should do.” 3:5 Ruth replied to Naomi, 114 “I will do everything you have told 115 me 116 to do.” 117
3:6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. 118 3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. 119 Then Ruth 120 crept up quietly, 121 uncovered his legs, 122 and lay down beside him. 123 3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled 124 and turned over. 125 Now 126 he saw a woman 127 lying beside him! 128 3:9 He said, “Who are you?” 129 She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant. 130 Marry your servant, 131 for you are a guardian of the family interests.” 132 3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded 133 by the Lord, my dear! 134 This act of devotion 135 is greater than what you did before. 136 For you have not sought to marry 137 one of the young men, whether rich or poor. 138 3:11 Now, my dear, don’t worry! 139 I intend to do for you everything you propose, 140 for everyone in the village 141 knows that you are a worthy woman. 142 3:12 Now yes, it is true that 143 I am a guardian, 144 but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. 3:13 Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, 145 fine, 146 let him do so. 147 But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. 148 Sleep here until morning.” 149 3:14 So she slept beside him 150 until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. 151 Boaz thought, 152 “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” 153 3:15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl 154 you are wearing 155 and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds 156 of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he 157 went into town, 3:16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.
When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi 158 asked, 159 “How did things turn out for you, 160 my daughter?” Ruth 161 told her about all the man had done for her. 162 3:17 She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, 163 ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 164 3:18 Then Naomi 165 said, “Stay put, 166 my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”
4:1 Now Boaz went up 167 to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian 168 whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! 169 Boaz said, “Come 170 here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” 171 So he came 172 and sat down. 4:2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders 173 and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down. 4:3 Then Boaz said to the guardian, 174 “Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling 175 the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. 4:4 So I am legally informing you: 176 Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! 177 If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. 178 But if not, then tell me 179 so I will know. 180 For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” 181 He replied, “I will redeem it.” 4:5 Then Boaz said, “When 182 you acquire the field 183 from Naomi, 184 you must also 185 acquire Ruth the Moabite, 186 the wife of our deceased relative, 187 in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.” 188 4:6 The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance 189 in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.” 190 4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: 191 A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. 192 This was a legally binding act 193 in Israel.) 4:8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal. 194 4:9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 4:10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property 195 so the name of the deceased might not disappear 196 from among his relatives and from his village. 197 You are witnesses today.” 4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May 198 you prosper 199 in Ephrathah and become famous 200 in Bethlehem. 201 4:12 May your family 202 become like the family of Perez 203 – whom Tamar bore to Judah – through the descendants 204 the Lord gives you by this young woman.”
4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. 205 The Lord enabled her to conceive 206 and she gave birth to a son. 4:14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian 207 today! May he 208 become famous in Israel! 209 4:15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, 210 for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She 211 is better to you than seven sons!” 4:16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; 212 she became his caregiver. 213 4:17 The neighbor women named him, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. 214 Now he became the father of Jesse – David’s father!
4:18 These are the descendants 215 of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 4:19 Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, 4:20 Amminadab was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmah, 4:21 Salmon 216 was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, 4:22 Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. 217