¹⁹ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.^(A)

⁵ If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.^{(A) 6} The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.^(B)

⁷ However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,^(C) she shall go to the elders at the town gate^(D) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”^{(E) 8} Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” ⁹ his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,^(F) spit in his face^(G) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” ¹⁰ That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,^(A) the^[a] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”^(B)

¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?^{(A) 12} Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— ¹³ would you wait until they grew up?^(B) Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter^(C) for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!^(D)”

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^(A)