Boaz Will Redeem Ruth

3 Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek ^[a]security for you, that it may go well for you? ² Now then, is Boaz not ^(A)our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. ³ Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall ^[b]take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do.” ⁵ And she said to her, “^(B)All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ When Boaz had eaten and drunk and ^(C)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and ^[c]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ So he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “^(D)May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all ^[d]my people in the city know that you are ^(E)a woman of excellence. ¹² But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I. ¹³ Remain this night, and when morning comes, ^(F)if he will ^[e]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to ^[f]redeem you, then I will redeem you, ^(G)as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, “^(H)Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Again he said, “Give me the shawl that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then ^[g]she went into the city. ¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “^[h]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She also said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” ¹⁸ Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter ^[i]turns out; for the man will not rest until he has ^[j]settled it today.”

The Marriage of Ruth

4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, ^(I)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, ^[k]friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. ² Then he took ten men of the ^(J)elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³ And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land ^(K)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ So I thought that I would ^[l]inform you, saying, ‘^(L)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if ^[m]not, tell me so that I may know; for ^(M)there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order ^(N)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ⁶ Then ^(O)the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would ^[n]jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.”

⁷ Now this was ^(P)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel. ⁸ So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so ^(Q)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the ^[o]court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹ And all the people who were ^[p]in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home ^(R)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve ^[q]wealth in Ephrathah and ^[r]become famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Moreover, may your house be like the house of ^(S)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the ^[s]descendants whom the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And ^(T)the Lord ^[t]enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the ^(U)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name ^[u]become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you ^[v](V)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and ^[w]laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷ And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: ^(W)Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, ²² and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Peter and John Arrested

4 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^(A)the captain of the temple guard and ^(B)the Sadducees ^(C)came up to them, ² being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ^[a](D)in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them and ^(E)put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ But many of those who had heard the ^[b]message believed; and ^(F)the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵ On the next day, their ^(G)rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; ⁶ and ^(H)Annas the high priest was there, and ^(I)Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. ⁷ When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” ⁸ Then Peter, ^[c](J)filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “^[d](K)Rulers and elders of the people, ⁹ if we are ^[e]on trial today for ^(L)a benefit done to a sick man, as to ^[f]how this man has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ^[g](M)by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom ^(N)God raised from the dead—^[h]by ^[i]this name this man stands here before you in good health. ^11 [j](O)He is the ^(P)stone which was ^(Q)rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. ¹² And there is salvation in ^(R)no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

Threat and Release

¹³ Now as they observed the ^(S)confidence of ^(T)Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and ^(U)began to recognize them ^[k]as having been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. ¹⁵ But when they had ordered them to leave the ^[l](V)Council, they began to confer with one another, ¹⁶ saying, “^(W)What are we to do with these men? For the fact that a ^(X)noteworthy ^[m]miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person ^(Y)in this name.” ¹⁸ And when they had summoned them, they ^(Z)commanded them not to speak or teach at all ^[n]in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But ^(AA)Peter and John answered and said to them, “^(AB)Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; ²⁰ for ^(AC)we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹ When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) ^(AD)on account of the people, because they were all ^(AE)glorifying God for what had happened; ²² for the man on whom this ^[o]miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

²³ When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “^[p]Lord, it is You who ^(AF)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them, ²⁵ who ^(AG)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

²⁷ For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ^[t](AK)servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both ^(AL)Herod and ^(AM)Pontius Pilate, along with ^(AN)the ^[u]Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸ to do whatever Your hand and ^(AO)purpose predestined to occur. ²⁹ And ^[v]now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to ^(AP)speak Your word with all ^(AQ)confidence, ³⁰ while You extend Your hand to heal, and ^[w](AR)signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy ^[x](AS)servant Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the ^(AT)place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all ^(AU)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^(AV)speak the word of God with ^(AW)boldness.

Sharing among Believers

³² And the ^[y]congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them ^[z]claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but ^(AX)all things were common property to them. ³³ And ^(AY)with great power the apostles were giving ^(AZ)testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. ³⁴ For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses ^(BA)would sell them and bring the ^[aa]proceeds of the sales ³⁵ and ^(BB)lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be ^(BC)distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

³⁶ Now Joseph, a Levite of ^(BD)Cyprian birth, who was also called ^(BE)Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of ^[ab](BF)Encouragement), ^37 [ac]owned a tract of land. So he sold it, and brought the money and ^(BG)laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.