Ruth 4
New American Standard Bible
The Marriage of Ruth
4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, (A)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, [a]friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. 2 Then he took ten men of the (B)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 (C)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 So I thought that I would [b]inform you, saying, ‘(D)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if [c]not, tell me so that I may know; for (E)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 (F)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6 Then (G)the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would [d]jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.”
7 Now this was (H)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 (I)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the [e]court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” 11 And all the people who were [f]in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home (J)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve [g]wealth in Ephrathah and [h]become famous in Bethlehem. 12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of (K)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the [i]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 (L)the Lord [j]enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the (M)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name [k]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 [l](N)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
The Line of David
16 Then Naomi took the child and [m]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: (O)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 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 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ruth and Boaz Marry
4 Boaz went to the gate of the town(A) and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz called him by name and said, “Come[a] over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. 2 Then Boaz took 10 men of the town’s elders(B) and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. 3 He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling a piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech.(C) 4 I thought I should inform you:[b] Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you do[c] not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.”
“I want to redeem it,” he answered.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire[d] Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”(D)
6 The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”
7 At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal(E) and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.
8 So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”
9 Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. 10 I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
11 The elders and all the people who were at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah,(F) who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. 12 May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah,(G) because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
13 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons,(H) has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed.[e] He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
David’s Genealogy from Judah’s Son
18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez:
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