Judges 21 - Ruth 3

New King James Version

Wives Provided for the Benjamites

21 Now ^(A)the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” ² Then the people came ^(B)to ^[a]the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, ³ and said, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?”

⁴ So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and ^(C)built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ⁵ The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the Lord?” ^(D)For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” ⁶ And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. ⁷ What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters as wives?”

⁸ And they said, “What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from ^(E)Jabesh Gilead to the assembly. ⁹ For when the people were counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there. ¹⁰ So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying, ^(F)“Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children. ¹¹ And this is the thing that you shall do: ^(G)You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” ¹² So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at ^(H)Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin ^(I)who were at the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them. ¹⁴ So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them.

¹⁵ And the people ^(J)grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” ¹⁷ And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. ¹⁸ However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, ^(K)for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ” ¹⁹ Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly ^(L)feast of the Lord in ^(M)Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the ^(N)highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

²⁰ Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, ²¹ and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out ^(O)to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin. ²² Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ”

²³ And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they ^(P)rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them. ²⁴ So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance.

^25 (Q)In those days there was no king in Israel; ^(R)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab

1 Now it came to pass, in the days when ^(S)the judges ^[b]ruled, that there was ^(T)a famine in the land. And a certain man of ^(U)Bethlehem, Judah, went to ^[c]dwell in the country of ^(V)Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—^(W)Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went ^(X)to the country of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. ⁴ Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they ^[d]dwelt there about ten years. ⁵ Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.

Naomi Returns with Ruth

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had ^(Y)visited^[e] His people by ^(Z)giving them bread. ⁷ Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ^(AA)“Go, return each to her mother’s house. ^(AB)The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt ^(AC)with the dead and with me. ⁹ The Lord grant that you may find ^(AD)rest, each in the house of her husband.”

So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰ And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, ^(AE)that they may be your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, ¹³ would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that ^(AF)the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!”

¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth ^(AG)clung to her.

¹⁵ And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to ^(AH)her people and to her gods; ^(AI)return after your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶ But Ruth said:

^18 (AM)When she saw that she ^[g]was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

¹⁹ Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that ^(AN)all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, ^(AO)“Is this Naomi?”

²⁰ But she said to them, “Do not call me ^[h]Naomi; call me ^[i]Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went out full, ^(AP)and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and ^[j]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem ^(AQ)at the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 There was a ^(AR)relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of ^(AS)Elimelech. His name was ^(AT)Boaz. ² So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the ^(AU)field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

³ Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from ^(AV)Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, ^(AW)“The Lord be with you!”

And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶ So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman ^(AX)who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

¹⁰ So she ^(AY)fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found ^(AZ)favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

¹¹ And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, ^(BA)all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. ^12 (BB)The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, ^(BC)under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

¹³ Then she said, ^(BD)“Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken ^[k]kindly to your maidservant, ^(BE)though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

¹⁴ Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and ^(BF)was satisfied, and kept some back. ¹⁵ And when she rose up to ^[l]glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ^[m]reproach her. ¹⁶ Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of ^(BG)barley. ¹⁸ Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her ^(BH)what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

¹⁹ And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who ^(BI)took notice of you.”

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

²⁰ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ^(BJ)“Blessed be he of the Lord, who ^(BK)has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, ^(BL)one of ^[n]our close relatives.”

²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”

²² And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not ^[o]meet you in any other field.” ²³ So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ^(BM)shall I not seek ^(BN)security^[p] for you, that it may be well with you? ² Now Boaz, ^(BO)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 ^(BP)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 ^(BQ)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. ^(BR)Take^[q] your maidservant under your wing, for you are ^(BS)a ^[r]close relative.”

¹⁰ Then he said, ^(BT)“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ^(BU)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 ^(BV)virtuous woman. ¹² Now it is true that I am a ^(BW)close relative; however, ^(BX)there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ^(BY)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, ^(BZ)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, ^(CA)“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Also he said, “Bring the ^[s]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 ^[t]she went into the city.

¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ^[u]“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, ^(CB)“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.”