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Ruth 3:14-4:6
The Message
Ruth 3:14-4:6
The Message
14 Ruth slept at his feet until dawn, but she got up while it was still dark and wouldn’t be recognized. Then Boaz said to himself, “No one must know that Ruth came to the threshing floor.”
15 So Boaz said, “Bring the shawl you’re wearing and spread it out.”
She spread it out and he poured it full of barley, six measures, and put it on her shoulders. Then she went back to town.
16-17 When she came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “And how did things go, my dear daughter?”
Ruth told her everything that the man had done for her, adding, “And he gave me all this barley besides—six quarts! He told me, ‘You can’t go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law!’”
18 Naomi said, “Sit back and relax, my dear daughter, until we find out how things turn out; this man isn’t going to waste any time. Mark my words, he’s going to get everything wrapped up today.”
* * *
4 Boaz went straight to the public square and took his place there. Before long the “closer relative,” the one mentioned earlier by Boaz, strolled by.
“Step aside, old friend,” said Boaz. “Take a seat.” The man sat down.
2 Boaz then gathered ten of the town elders together and said, “Sit down here with us; we’ve got some business to take care of.” And they sat down.
3-4 Boaz then said to his relative, “The piece of property that belonged to our relative Elimelech is being sold by his widow Naomi, who has just returned from the country of Moab. I thought you ought to know about it. Buy it back if you want it—you can make it official in the presence of those sitting here and before the town elders. You have first redeemer rights. If you don’t want it, tell me so I’ll know where I stand. You’re first in line to do this and I’m next after you.”
He said, “I’ll buy it.”
5 Then Boaz added, “You realize, don’t you, that when you buy the field from Naomi, you also get Ruth the Moabite, the widow of our dead relative, along with the redeemer responsibility to have children with her to carry on the family inheritance.”
6 Then the relative said, “Oh, I can’t do that—I’d jeopardize my own family’s inheritance. You go ahead and buy it—you can have my rights—I can’t do it.”
* * *
Ruth 3:14-4:6
New International Version
Ruth 3:14-4:6
New International Version
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.(A)”(B)
15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl(C) you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he[a] went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”(D)
Boaz Marries Ruth
4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate(E) and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer[b](F) he had mentioned(G) came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders(H) of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.(I) 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek.(J) 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you[c] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you,(K) and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,(L) the[d] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”(M)
6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem(N) it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”(O)
Footnotes
- Ruth 3:15 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac she
- Ruth 4:1 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 3, 6, 8 and 14.
- Ruth 4:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts he
- Ruth 4:5 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew (see also Septuagint) Naomi and from Ruth the Moabite, you acquire the
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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