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
International Standard Version
Boaz Acts to Fulfill His Responsibilities
4 Meanwhile, Boaz approached the city gate[a] and sat down there. Just then, the very same related redeemer whom Boaz had mentioned came by, so Boaz[b] called out to him, “Come over and sit down here, my friend!” So the man came over and sat down.
2 Boaz[c] selected ten of the town elders and spoke to them, “Sit down here.” So they sat down 3 and Boaz[d] addressed the related redeemer directly: “A portion of a field belonging to our relative Elimelech is up for sale by Naomi, who recently returned from the country of Moab. 4 So I thought to myself I ought to tell you that you must make a public purchase of this before the town residents and the elders of my people. So if you intend to act as the related redeemer, then do so.[e] But if not, let me know, because except for you—and I after you—there is no one to fulfill the duties of a related redeemer.”
The man responded, “I will act as related redeemer.”
A Complication Arises and is Resolved
5 Boaz continued, “On the very day you obtain the field from Naomi,[f] I’ll be obtaining[g] Ruth the Moabite woman, the widow of the late heir,[h] so the family name may be continued[i] as an inheritance.”
6 At this, the nearer related redeemer replied, “Then I am unable to act as related redeemer, because that would complicate my own inheritance. You act instead as the related redeemer, because I cannot do so.”[j]
7 During Israel’s earlier history,[k] all things concerning redeeming or changing inheritances were confirmed by a man taking off his sandal and giving it to the other party,[l] thereby creating a public[m] record in Israel. 8 So when the nearer related redeemer told Boaz, “Make the purchase yourself,” he then took off his sandal.
Boaz’s Public Commitment
9 At this, Boaz addressed the elders and all of the people: “You all are witnesses today that I hereby redeem everything from Naomi that belonged to Elimelech, including what belonged to Chilion and Mahlon, 10 along with Mahlon’s wife Ruth the Moabite woman. I will marry her to continue the family name as an inheritance, so that the name of the deceased does not disappear from among his relatives, nor from the public record.[n] You are all witnesses today!”
11 Then all of the assembled people,[o] including the elders who were there, said, “We are witnesses! May the Lord make this woman who enters your house like Rachel and Leah, who together established the house of Israel. May you prosper in Ephrathah, and may you excel in Bethlehem! 12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore for Judah, from the offspring that the Lord gives you from this young woman.”
The Marriage of Boaz and Ruth
13 So Boaz took Ruth to be his wife, and when he had marital relations with her, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women of Bethlehem[p] told Naomi, “May the Lord be blessed,[q] who has not left you today without a related redeemer. May his name become famous throughout Israel! 15 And he will restore your life for you and will support you in your old age, because your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who has borne him, is better for you than seven sons!”
16 Naomi took care of the child, taking him to her breast and becoming his nurse. 17 So her women neighbors gave the child a nickname, which is “Naomi has a son!” They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
The Ancestry of David
18 This is the genealogy of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab. 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed. 22 Then Obed fathered Jesse, who fathered David.
Footnotes
- Ruth 4:1 I.e. the place of public business
- Ruth 4:1 Lit. he
- Ruth 4:2 Lit. He
- Ruth 4:3 Lit. he
- Ruth 4:4 Lit. then act as related redeemer
- Ruth 4:5 Lit. from the hand of Naomi
- Ruth 4:5 So MT ketiv; MT qere reads you will be obtaining
- Ruth 4:5 Lit. the dead
- Ruth 4:5 Or be raised up
- Ruth 4:6 Lit. cannot act as related redeemer
- Ruth 4:7 Or years
- Ruth 4:7 Or neighbor; cf. Deut 25:9
- Ruth 4:7 The Heb. lacks public
- Ruth 4:10 Lit. the gate of his place
- Ruth 4:11 Lit. the people in the gate
- Ruth 4:14 The Heb. lacks of Bethlehem
- Ruth 4:14 Or Blessed be the Lord
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