2:1 Now Naomi 1 had a relative 2 on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. 3 2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go 4 to the fields so I can gather 5 grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” 6 Naomi 7 replied, “You may go, my daughter.” 2:3 So Ruth 8 went and gathered grain in the fields 9 behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up 10 in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
2:4 Now at that very moment, 11 Boaz arrived from Bethlehem 12 and greeted 13 the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, 14 “May the Lord bless you!” 2:5 Boaz asked 15 his servant 16 in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?” 17 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, 18 ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather 19 grain among the bundles?’ 20 Since she arrived she has been working hard 21 from this morning until now 22 – except for 23 sitting 24 in the resting hut 25 a short time.” 26
2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, 27 my dear! 28 Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not 29 go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside 30 my female workers. 31 2:9 Take note of 32 the field where the men 33 are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. 34 I will tell the men 35 to leave you alone. 36 When you are thirsty, you may go to 37 the water jars 38 and drink some of the water 39 the servants draw.” 40
2:10 Ruth 41 knelt before him with her forehead to the ground 42 and said to him, “Why are you so kind 43 and so attentive to me, 44 even though 45 I am a foreigner?” 46 2:11 Boaz replied to her, 47 “I have been given a full report of 48 all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left 49 your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. 50 2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! 51 May your acts of kindness be repaid fully 52 by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” 53 2:13 She said, “You really are being kind to me, 54 sir, 55 for you have reassured 56 and encouraged 57 me, your servant, 58 even though I am 59 not one of your servants!” 60
2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have 61 some food! Dip your bread 62 in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed 63 her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. 64 2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told 65 his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among 66 the bundles! Don’t chase her off! 67 2:16 Make sure you pull out 68 ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!” 69 2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed 70 what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds 71 of barley!
2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw 72 how much grain 73 she had gathered. Then Ruth 74 gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. 75 2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, 76 “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” 77 So Ruth 78 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 79 has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” 80 Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” 81 2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even 82 told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants 83 until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” 84 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. 85 That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” 86 2:23 So Ruth 87 worked beside 88 Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. 89 After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. 90
3:1 At that time, 91 Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. 92 3:2 Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. 93 Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 94 3:3 So bathe yourself, 95 rub on some perfumed oil, 96 and get dressed up. 97 Then go down 98 to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal. 99 3:4 When he gets ready to go to sleep, 100 take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, 101 and lie down 102 beside him. 103 He will tell 104 you what you should do.” 3:5 Ruth replied to Naomi, 105 “I will do everything you have told 106 me 107 to do.” 108
3:6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. 109 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. 110 Then Ruth 111 crept up quietly, 112 uncovered his legs, 113 and lay down beside him. 114 3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled 115 and turned over. 116 Now 117 he saw a woman 118 lying beside him! 119 3:9 He said, “Who are you?” 120 She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant. 121 Marry your servant, 122 for you are a guardian of the family interests.” 123 3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded 124 by the Lord, my dear! 125 This act of devotion 126 is greater than what you did before. 127 For you have not sought to marry 128 one of the young men, whether rich or poor. 129 3:11 Now, my dear, don’t worry! 130 I intend to do for you everything you propose, 131 for everyone in the village 132 knows that you are a worthy woman. 133 3:12 Now yes, it is true that 134 I am a guardian, 135 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, 136 fine, 137 let him do so. 138 But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. 139 Sleep here until morning.” 140 3:14 So she slept beside him 141 until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. 142 Boaz thought, 143 “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” 144 3:15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl 145 you are wearing 146 and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds 147 of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he 148 went into town, 3:16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.
When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi 149 asked, 150 “How did things turn out for you, 151 my daughter?” Ruth 152 told her about all the man had done for her. 153 3:17 She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, 154 ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 155 3:18 Then Naomi 156 said, “Stay put, 157 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 158 to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian 159 whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! 160 Boaz said, “Come 161 here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” 162 So he came 163 and sat down. 4:2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders 164 and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down. 4:3 Then Boaz said to the guardian, 165 “Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling 166 the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. 4:4 So I am legally informing you: 167 Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! 168 If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. 169 But if not, then tell me 170 so I will know. 171 For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” 172 He replied, “I will redeem it.” 4:5 Then Boaz said, “When 173 you acquire the field 174 from Naomi, 175 you must also 176 acquire Ruth the Moabite, 177 the wife of our deceased relative, 178 in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.” 179 4:6 The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance 180 in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.” 181 4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: 182 A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. 183 This was a legally binding act 184 in Israel.) 4:8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal. 185 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 186 so the name of the deceased might not disappear 187 from among his relatives and from his village. 188 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 189 you prosper 190 in Ephrathah and become famous 191 in Bethlehem. 192 4:12 May your family 193 become like the family of Perez 194 – whom Tamar bore to Judah – through the descendants 195 the Lord gives you by this young woman.”
4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. 196 The Lord enabled her to conceive 197 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 198 today! May he 199 become famous in Israel! 200 4:15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, 201 for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She 202 is better to you than seven sons!” 4:16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; 203 she became his caregiver. 204 4:17 The neighbor women named him, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. 205 Now he became the father of Jesse – David’s father!
4:18 These are the descendants 206 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 207 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. 208