Ruth 1-4
New Living Translation
Elimelech Moves His Family to Moab
1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return
6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.
8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.
10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”
14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.
19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara,[a] for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer[b] and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth Works in Boaz’s Field
2 Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.
2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”
Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.
4 While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.
“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.
5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”
8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”
11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”
13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”
14 At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.
15 When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. 16 And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”
17 So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket.[c] 18 She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.
19 “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband.[d] That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth[e] said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
22 “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”
23 So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth at the Threshing Floor
3 One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. 2 Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3 Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.
7 After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. 11 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. 12 But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.”
14 So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops[f] of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he[g] returned to the town.
16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, 17 and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”
Boaz Marries Ruth
4 Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. 2 Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. 3 And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
7 Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. 8 So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
11 Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”
The Descendants of Boaz
13 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
18 This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron.
19 Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.[h]
21 Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
22 Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David.
Footnotes
- 1:20 Naomi means “pleasant”; Mara means “bitter.”
- 1:21 Or has testified against me.
- 2:17 Hebrew it was about an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters].
- 2:20 Hebrew to the living and to the dead.
- 2:21 Hebrew Ruth the Moabite.
- 3:15a Hebrew six measures, an unknown quantity.
- 3:15b Most Hebrew manuscripts read he; many Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate read she.
- 4:20 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 4:21); Hebrew reads Salma.
Ruth 1-4
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Move to Moab and Tragedy
1 In the days when the judges were ruling, there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah went with his wife and two sons to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of their two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were descendants of Ephrathah from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. They went to the country of Moab and lived there.
3 Now, Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left alone with her two sons. 4 Each son married a woman from Moab. One son married a woman named Orpah, and the other son married a woman named Ruth. They lived there for about ten years. 5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion died as well. So Naomi was left alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Departure from Moab
6 Naomi and her daughters-in-law started on the way back from the country of Moab. (While they were still in Moab she heard that the Lord had come to help his people and give them food. 7 So she left the place where she had been living, and her two daughters-in-law went with her.) They began to walk back along the road to the territory of Judah.
Naomi’s Appeal to Her Daughters-in-Law
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back! Each of you should go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord be as kind to you as you were to me and to our loved ones who have died. 9 May the Lord repay each of you so that you may find security in a home with a husband.”
When she kissed them goodbye, they began to cry loudly. 10 They said to her, “We are going back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I have any more sons in my womb who could be your husbands? 12 Go back, my daughters. Go, because I am too old to get married again. If I said that I still have hope. … And if I had a husband tonight. … And even if I gave birth to sons, 13 would you wait until they grew up and stay single just for them? No, my daughters. My bitterness is much worse than yours because the Lord has sent me so much trouble.”
14 They began to cry loudly again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth held on to her tightly. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Go back with your sister-in-law.”
16 But Ruth answered, “Don’t force me to leave you. Don’t make me turn back from following you. Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and I will be buried there with you. May the Lord strike me down if anything but death separates you and me!”
18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she ended the conversation.
Naomi Arrives in Bethlehem
19 So both of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about them. “This can’t be Naomi, can it?” the women asked.
20 She answered them, “Don’t call me Naomi [Sweet]. Call me Mara [Bitter] because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi when the Lord has tormented me and the Almighty has done evil to me?”
22 When Naomi came back from the country of Moab, Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, came along with her. They happened to enter Bethlehem just when the barley harvest began.
Ruth Gathers Grain in the Field of Boaz
2 Naomi had a relative. He was from Elimelech’s side of the family. He was a man of outstanding character named Boaz.
2 Ruth, who was from Moab, said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field of anyone who will be kind to me. There I will gather the grain left behind by the reapers.”
Naomi told her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So Ruth went. She entered a field and gathered the grain left behind by the reapers. Now it happened that she ended up in the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.
4 Just then, Boaz was coming from Bethlehem, and he said to his reapers, “May the Lord be with all of you!”
They answered him, “May the Lord bless you!”
5 Boaz asked the young man in charge of his reapers, “Who is this young woman?”
6 The young man answered, “She’s a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me gather grain. I will only gather among the bundles behind the reapers.’ So she came here and has been on her feet from daybreak until now. She just sat down this minute in the shelter.”
Boaz Speaks with Ruth
8 Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go in any other field to gather grain, and don’t even leave this one. Stay here with my young women. 9 Watch where my men are reaping, and follow the young women in that field. I have ordered my young men not to touch you. When you’re thirsty, go to the jars and drink some of the water that the young men have drawn.”
10 Ruth immediately bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so helpful? Why are you paying attention to me? I’m only a foreigner.”
11 Boaz answered her, “People have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband died. They told me how you left your father and mother and the country where you were born. They also told me how you came to people that you didn’t know before. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done! May you receive a rich reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose protection you have come for shelter.”
13 Ruth replied, “Sir, may your kindness to me continue. You have comforted me and reassured me, and I’m not even one of your own servants.”
14 When it was time to eat, Boaz told her, “Come here. Have some bread, and dip it into the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her gather grain even among the bundles. Don’t give her any problems. 16 Even pull some grain out of the bundles and leave it for her to gather. Don’t give her a hard time about it.”
Ruth and Naomi Talk about Boaz
17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the grain from its husks. She had about half a bushel of barley. 18 She picked it up and went into the town, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also took out what she had left over from lunch and gave it to Naomi.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? Just where did you work? May the man who paid attention to you be blessed.”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the person with whom she worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the Lord bless him. The Lord hasn’t stopped being kind to people—living or dead.” Then Naomi told her, “That man is a relative of ours. He is a close relative, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”
21 Ruth, who was from Moab, told her, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my younger workers until they have finished the harvest.’ ”
22 Naomi told her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It’s a good idea, my daughter, that you go out to the fields with his young women. If you go to someone else’s field, you may be molested.”
23 So Ruth stayed with the young women who were working for Boaz. She gathered grain until both the barley harvest and the wheat harvest ended. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law.
Naomi’s Plan for Ruth’s Marriage
3 Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you? 2 Isn’t Boaz, whose young women you’ve been working with, our relative? He will be separating the barley from its husks on the threshing floor [a] tonight. 3 Freshen up, put on some perfume, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. Don’t let him know that you’re there until he’s finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying. Then uncover his feet, and lie down there. He will make it clear what you must do.”
5 Ruth answered her, “I will do whatever you say.”
Ruth at the Feet of Boaz
6 Ruth went to the threshing floor and did exactly as her mother-in-law had directed her. 7 Boaz had eaten and drunk to his heart’s content, so he went and lay at the edge of a pile of grain. Then she went over to him secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
8 At midnight the man was shivering. When he turned over, he was surprised to see a woman lying at his feet. 9 “Who are you?” he asked.
She answered, “I am Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me because you are a close relative who can take care of me.”
10 Boaz replied, “May the Lord bless you, my daughter. This last kindness—that you didn’t go after the younger men, whether rich or poor—is better than the first. 11 Don’t be afraid, my daughter. I will do whatever you say. The whole town knows that you are a woman who has strength of character. 12 It is true that I am a close relative of yours, but there is a relative closer than I. 13 Stay here tonight. In the morning if he will agree to take care of you, that is good. He can take care of you. But if he does not wish to take care of you, then, I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, I will take care of you myself. Lie down until morning.”
Ruth Returns to Bethlehem
14 So Ruth lay at his feet until morning. Then she got up early before anyone could be recognized. At that moment Boaz thought to himself, “I hope that no one will ever know that this woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 Then Boaz told Ruth, “Stretch out the cape you’re wearing and hold it tight.” So she held it tight while he measured out six measures of barley. Then he placed it on her ⌞back⌟ and went into the town.
16 When Ruth returned, her mother-in-law Naomi asked, “How did things go, my daughter?”
Ruth told Naomi everything the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley and told me not to come back to you empty-handed.”
18 Naomi replied, “Stay here, my daughter, until you know how it turns out. The man won’t rest unless he settles this matter today.”
Boaz Assumes Responsibility for Ruth
4 Boaz went to the city gate and sat there. Just then, the relative about whom he had spoken was passing by. Boaz said, “Please come over here and sit, my friend.” So the man came over and sat down.
2 Then Boaz chose ten men who were leaders of that city and said, “Sit here.” So they also sat down.
3 Boaz said to the man, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the field that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I said that I would inform you. Buy it in the presence of these men sitting here and in the presence of the leaders of our people. If you wish to buy back the property, you can buy back the property. But if you do not wish to buy back the property, tell me. Then I will know that I am next in line because there is no other relative except me.”
The man said, “I’ll buy back the property.”
5 Boaz continued, “When you buy the field from Naomi, you will also assume responsibility for the Moabite Ruth, the dead man’s widow. This keeps the inheritance in the dead man’s name.”
6 The man replied, “In that case I cannot assume responsibility for her. If I did, I would ruin my inheritance. Take all my rights to buy back the property for yourself, because I cannot assume that responsibility.”
7 (This is the way it used to be in Israel concerning buying back property and exchanging goods: In order to make every matter legal, a man would take off his sandal and give it to the other man. This was the way a contract was publicly approved in Israel.) 8 So when the man said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he took off his sandal.
9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and to all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 In addition, I have bought as my wife the Moabite Ruth, Mahlon’s widow, to keep the inheritance in the dead man’s name. In this way the dead man’s name will not be cut off from his relatives or from the public records. Today you are witnesses.”
11 All the people who were at the gate, including the leaders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this wife, who is coming into your home, like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built our family of Israel. So show your strength of character in Ephrathah and make a name for yourself in Bethlehem. 12 Also, from the descendant whom the Lord will give you from this young woman, may your family become like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave birth to for Judah.”
Ruth Gives Birth to David’s Ancestor
13 Then Boaz took Ruth home, and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord gave her the ability to become pregnant. So she gave birth to a son.
14 The women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has remembered today to give you someone who will take care of you. The child’s name will be famous in Israel. 15 He will bring you a new life and support you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law who loves you is better to you than seven sons, because she has given birth.”
16 Naomi took the child, held him on her lap, and became his guardian.
17 The women in the neighborhood said, “Naomi has a son.” So they gave him the name Obed.
He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
The Ancestry of David
18 This is the account of Perez and his family.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
19 Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
21 Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
22 Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David.
Footnotes
- 3:2 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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