Ruth 2-4
New American Standard Bible
Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field
2 Now Naomi had [a]a relative of her husband, a [b]man of great wealth, of the family of (A)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and (B)glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and [c]she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “(C)May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was [d]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant [e]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “[f]Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here. 9 Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the [g]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” 10 Then she (D)fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12 (E)May the Lord reward your [h]work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken [i]kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants.”
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “[j]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied (G)and had some left. 15 When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [k]insult her. 16 Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an [l]ephah of barley. 18 And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and (H)gave [m]Naomi what she had left after [n]she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who (I)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “(J)May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative; he is one of our (K)redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “[o]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until (L)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Boaz Will Redeem Ruth
3 Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek [p]security for you, that it may go well for you? 2 Now then, is Boaz not (M)our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. 3 Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall [q]take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do.” 5 And she said to her, “(N)All that you say I will do.”
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and (O)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and [r]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 So he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer.” 10 Then he said, “(P)May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all [s]my people in the city know that you are (Q)a woman of excellence. 12 But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I. 13 Remain this night, and when morning comes, (R)if he will [t]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to [u]redeem you, then I will redeem you, (S)as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, “(T)Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Again he said, “Give me the shawl that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then [v]she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “[w]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 She also said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 18 Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter [x]turns out; for the man will not rest until he has [y]settled it today.”
The Marriage of Ruth
4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, (U)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, [z]friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. 2 Then he took ten men of the (V)elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land (W)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 So I thought that I would [aa]inform you, saying, ‘(X)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if [ab]not, tell me so that I may know; for (Y)there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order (Z)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6 Then (AA)the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would [ac]jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.”
7 Now this was (AB)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel. 8 So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so (AC)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the [ad]court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” 11 And all the people who were [ae]in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home (AD)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve [af]wealth in Ephrathah and [ag]become famous in Bethlehem. 12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of (AE)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the [ah]descendants whom the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And (AF)the Lord [ai]enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the (AG)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name [aj]become famous in Israel. 15 May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you [ak](AH)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
The Line of David
16 Then Naomi took the child and [al]laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: (AI)Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, 22 and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
Footnotes
- Ruth 2:1 Another reading is an acquaintance
- Ruth 2:1 Or mighty, valiant man
- Ruth 2:3 Lit her chance chanced upon
- Ruth 2:5 Lit appointed over
- Ruth 2:6 Lit who was appointed over
- Ruth 2:8 Lit Have you not heard
- Ruth 2:9 Lit vessels
- Ruth 2:12 Or behavior
- Ruth 2:13 Lit to the heart of your
- Ruth 2:14 Lit Come near here
- Ruth 2:15 Or harm
- Ruth 2:17 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
- Ruth 2:18 Lit her
- Ruth 2:18 Lit her satiety
- Ruth 2:21 Lit Also that
- Ruth 3:1 Lit a resting place
- Ruth 3:4 Lit know
- Ruth 3:8 Or tossed around
- Ruth 3:11 Lit the gate of my people know
- Ruth 3:13 Or act as close relative to
- Ruth 3:13 Or act as close relative to
- Ruth 3:15 Many mss; MT he
- Ruth 3:16 Lit Who are you?
- Ruth 3:18 Lit falls
- Ruth 3:18 Lit finished the matter
- Ruth 4:1 Lit a certain one
- Ruth 4:4 Lit uncover your ear
- Ruth 4:4 Lit no one will redeem
- Ruth 4:6 Lit damage
- Ruth 4:10 Lit gate
- Ruth 4:11 Lit at the gate
- Ruth 4:11 Or power
- Ruth 4:11 Lit call the name in
- Ruth 4:12 Lit seed
- Ruth 4:13 Lit gave her conception
- Ruth 4:14 Lit be called in
- Ruth 4:15 Lit who
- Ruth 4:16 I.e., as her own
Ruth 2-4
New Living Translation
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.[a] 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.[b] That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth[c] 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[d] of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he[e] 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.[f]
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
- 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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.
