Ruth’s Redemption Assured

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ^(A)shall I not seek ^(B)security^[a] for you, that it may be well with you? ² Now Boaz, ^(C)whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³ Therefore wash yourself and ^(D)anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. ⁷ And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^(E)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. ^(F)Take^[b] your maidservant under your wing, for you are ^(G)a ^[c]close relative.”

¹⁰ Then he said, ^(H)“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ^(I)at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a ^(J)virtuous woman. ¹² Now it is true that I am a ^(K)close relative; however, ^(L)there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ^(M)perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, ^(N)as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, ^(O)“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Also he said, “Bring the ^[d]shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then ^[e]she went into the city.

¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ^[f]“Is that you, my daughter?”

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

¹⁸ Then she said, ^(P)“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”

Shun Evil Counsel

The Call of Wisdom