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Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz
2 Now Naomi[a] had a relative[b] on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech.[c] 2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go[d] to the fields so I can gather[e] grain behind whoever permits me to do so.”[f] Naomi[g] replied, “You may go, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth[h] went and gathered grain in the fields[i] behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up[j] in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
Boaz and Ruth Meet
4 Now at that very moment,[k] Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted[l] the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied,[m] “May the Lord bless you!” 5 Boaz asked[n] his servant[o] in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”[p] 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. 7 She asked,[q] ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather grain[r] among the bundles?’[s] Since she arrived she has been working hard[t] from this morning until now[u]—except for[v] sitting[w] in the resting hut[x] a short time.”[y]
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully,[z] my dear![aa] Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not[ab] go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside[ac] my female workers.[ad] 9 Take note of[ae] the field where the men[af] are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers.[ag] I will tell the men[ah] to leave you alone.[ai] When you are thirsty, you may go to[aj] the water jars[ak] and drink some of the water[al] the servants draw.”[am]
10 Ruth[an] knelt before him with her forehead to the ground[ao] and said to him, “Why are you so kind[ap] and so attentive to me,[aq] even though[ar] I am a foreigner?”[as] 11 Boaz replied to her,[at] “I have been given a full report of[au] all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband—how you left[av] your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously.[aw] 12 May the Lord reward your efforts![ax] May your acts of kindness be repaid fully[ay] by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection.”[az] 13 She said, “You really are being kind to me,[ba] sir,[bb] for you have reassured[bc] and encouraged[bd] me, your servant,[be] even though I will[bf] never be like[bg] one of your servants.”[bh]
14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have[bi] some food! Dip your bread[bj] in the vinegar.” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed[bk] her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest.[bl] 15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told[bm] his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among[bn] the bundles. Don’t chase her off![bo] 16 Make sure you pull out[bp] ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!”[bq] 17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed[br] what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds[bs] of barley.
Ruth Returns to Naomi
18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw[bt] how much grain[bu] she had gathered. Then Ruth[bv] gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime.[bw] 19 Her mother-in-law asked her,[bx] “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!”[by] So Ruth[bz] told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he[ca] has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!”[cb] Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.”[cc] 21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even[cd] told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants[ce] until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’”[cf] 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.[cg] That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.”[ch] 23 So Ruth[ci] worked beside[cj] Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest.[ck] After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law.[cl]
Naomi Instructs Ruth
3 At that time,[cm] Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure.[cn] 2 Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative.[co] Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor.[cp] 3 So bathe yourself,[cq] rub on some perfumed oil,[cr] and get dressed up.[cs] Then go down[ct] to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal.[cu] 4 When he gets ready to go to sleep,[cv] take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs,[cw] and lie down[cx] beside him.[cy] He will tell[cz] you what you should do.” 5 Ruth replied to Naomi,[da] “I will do everything you have told[db] me[dc] to do.”[dd]
Ruth Visits Boaz
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do.[de] 7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap.[df] Then Ruth[dg] crept up quietly,[dh] uncovered his legs,[di] and lay down beside him.[dj] 8 In the middle of the night he was startled[dk] and turned over.[dl] Now[dm] he saw a woman[dn] lying beside him![do] 9 He said, “Who are you?”[dp] She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant.[dq] Marry your servant,[dr] for you are a guardian of the family interests.”[ds] 10 He said, “May you be rewarded[dt] by the Lord, my dear![du] This act of devotion[dv] is greater than what you did before.[dw] For you have not sought to marry[dx] one of the young men, whether rich or poor.[dy] 11 Now, my dear, don’t worry![dz] I intend to do for you everything you propose,[ea] for everyone in the village[eb] knows that you are a worthy woman.[ec] 12 Now yes, it is true that[ed] I am a guardian,[ee] but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. 13 Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you,[ef] fine,[eg] let him do so.[eh] But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you.[ei] Sleep here until morning.”[ej] 14 So she slept beside him[ek] until morning. She woke up while it was still dark.[el] Boaz thought,[em] “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.”[en] 15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl[eo] you are wearing[ep] and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds[eq] of barley into the shawl[er] and put it on her shoulders. Then he[es] went into town, 16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.
Ruth Returns to Naomi
When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi[et] asked,[eu] “How did things turn out for you,[ev] my daughter?” Ruth[ew] told her about all the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me,[ex] ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”[ey] 18 Then Naomi[ez] said, “Stay put,[fa] 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.”
Boaz Settles the Matter
4 Now Boaz went up[fb] to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian[fc] whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth.[fd] Boaz said, “Come[fe] here, what’s-your-name,[ff] and sit down.” So he came[fg] and sat down. 2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders[fh] and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down. 3 Then Boaz said to the guardian,[fi] “Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling[fj] the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I am legally informing you:[fk] Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people.[fl] If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so.[fm] But if not, then tell me[fn] so I will know.[fo] For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.”[fp] He replied, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “When[fq] you acquire the field[fr] from Naomi,[fs] you must also[ft] acquire Ruth the Moabite,[fu] the wife of our deceased relative,[fv] in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.”[fw] 6 The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance[fx] in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.”[fy] 7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel:[fz] A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party.[ga] This was a legally binding act[gb] in Israel.) 8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal.[gc] 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. 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[gd] so the name of the deceased might not disappear[ge] from among his relatives and from his village.[gf] You are witnesses today.” 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[gg] you prosper[gh] in Ephrathah and become famous[gi] in Bethlehem. 12 May your family[gj] become like the family of Perez[gk]—whom Tamar bore to Judah—through the descendants[gl] the Lord gives you by this young woman.”
A Grandson is Born to Naomi
13 So Boaz married Ruth and slept with her.[gm] The Lord enabled her to conceive[gn] and she gave birth to a son. 14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian[go] today! May he[gp] become famous in Israel![gq] 15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old,[gr] for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She[gs] is better to you than seven sons!” 16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap;[gt] she became his caregiver.[gu] 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed.[gv] Now he became the father of Jesse—David’s father.
Epilogue: Obed in the Genealogy of David
18 These are the descendants[gw] of 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 Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmah, 21 Salmon[gx] was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, 22 Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.[gy]
Onward to Galilee
43 After the two days he departed from there to Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)[a] 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem[b] at the feast[c] (for they themselves had gone to the feast).[d]
Healing the Royal Official’s Son
46 Now he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine.[e] In[f] Capernaum[g] there was a certain royal official[h] whose son was sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him[i] to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people[j] see signs and wonders you will never believe!”[k] 49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus told him, “Go home;[l] your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home.[m]
51 While he was on his way down,[n] his slaves[o] met him and told him that his son was going to live. 52 So he asked them the time[p] when his condition began to improve,[q] and[r] they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon[s] the fever left him.” 53 Then the father realized that it was the very time[t] Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household. 54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign[u] when he returned from Judea to Galilee.
16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply.[a]
17 He sent a man ahead of them[b]—
Joseph was sold as a servant.
18 The shackles hurt his feet;[c]
his neck was placed in an iron collar,[d]
19 until the time when his prediction[e] came true.
The Lord’s word[f] proved him right.[g]
20 The king authorized his release;[h]
the ruler of nations set him free.
21 He put him in charge of his palace,[i]
and made him manager of all his property,
22 giving him authority to imprison his officials[j]
and to teach his advisers.[k]
23 Israel moved to[l] Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time[m] in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord[n] made his people very fruitful,
and made them[o] more numerous than their[p] enemies.
25 He caused the Egyptians[q] to hate his people,
and to mistreat[r] his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They executed his miraculous signs among them,[s]
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
28 He made it dark;[t]
Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders.[u]
29 He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood,
and killed their fish.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
31 He ordered flies to come;[v]
gnats invaded their whole territory.
32 He sent hail along with the rain;[w]
there was lightning in their land.[x]
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
34 He ordered locusts to come,[y]
innumerable grasshoppers.
35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields.[z]
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power.[aa]
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