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And Boaz hath gone up to the gate, and sitteth there, and lo, the redeemer is passing by of whom Boaz had spoken, and he saith, `Turn aside, sit down here, such a one, such a one;' and he turneth aside and sitteth down.

And he taketh ten men of the elders of the city, and saith, `Sit down here;' and they sit down.

And he saith to the redeemer, `A portion of the field which [is] to our brother, to Elimelech, hath Naomi sold, who hath come back from the fields of Moab;

and I said, I uncover thine ear, saying, Buy before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people; if thou dost redeem -- redeem, and if none doth redeem -- declare to me, and I know, for there is none save thee to redeem, and I after thee.' And he saith, I redeem [it].'

And Boaz saith, `In the day of thy buying the field from the hand of Naomi, then from Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead, thou hast bought [it], to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance.'

And the redeemer saith, `I am not able to redeem [it] for myself, lest I destroy mine inheritance; redeem for thyself -- thou -- my right of redemption, for I am not able to redeem.'

And this [is] formerly in Israel for redemption and for changing, to establish anything: a man hath drawn off his sandal, and given [it] to his neighbour, and this [is] the testimony in Israel.

And the redeemer saith to Boaz, `Buy [it] for thyself,' and draweth off his sandal.

And Boaz saith to the elders, and [to] all the people, `Witnesses [are] ye to-day that I have bought all that [is] to Elimelech, and all that [is] to Chilion and Mahlon, from the hand of Naomi;

10 and also Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Mahlon, I have bought to myself for a wife, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance; and the name of the dead is not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; witnesses ye [are] to-day.'

11 And all the people who [are] in the gate say -- also the elders -- `Witnesses! Jehovah make the woman who is coming in unto thy house as Rachel and as Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and do thou virtuously in Ephrathah, and proclaim the Name in Beth-Lehem;

12 and let thy house be as the house of Pharez (whom Tamar bare to Judah), of the seed which Jehovah doth give to thee of this young woman.'

13 And Boaz taketh Ruth, and she becometh his wife, and he goeth in unto her, and Jehovah giveth to her conception, and she beareth a son.

14 And the women say unto Naomi, `Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath not let a redeemer cease to thee to-day, and his name is proclaimed in Israel,

15 and he hath been to thee for a restorer of life, and for a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law who hath loved thee -- who is better to thee than seven sons -- hath borne him.'

16 And Naomi taketh the lad, and layeth him in her bosom, and is to him for a nurse;

17 and the neighbouring women give to him a name, saying, `There hath been a son born to Naomi,' and they call his name Obed; he [is] father of Jesse, father of David.

18 And these are genealogies of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

19 and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminidab,

20 and Amminidab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

21 and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

22 and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Boaz Marries Ruth

Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate(A) and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer[a](B) he had mentioned(C) came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

Boaz took ten of the elders(D) of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.(E) Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek.(F) I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you[b] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you,(G) and I am next in line.”

“I will redeem it,” he said.

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

At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem(J) it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”(K)

(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption(L) and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal(M) and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions(N) in Israel.)(O)

So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.(P)

Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses(Q) that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite,(R) Mahlon’s widow, as my wife,(S) in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown.(T) Today you are witnesses!(U)

11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate(V) said, “We are witnesses.(W) May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah,(X) who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah(Y) and be famous in Bethlehem.(Z) 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez,(AA) whom Tamar(AB) bore to Judah.”

Naomi Gains a Son

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive,(AC) and she gave birth to a son.(AD) 14 The women(AE) said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord,(AF) who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer.(AG) May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law,(AH) who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons,(AI) has given him birth.”

16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse,(AJ) the father of David.(AK)

The Genealogy of David(AL)

18 This, then, is the family line of Perez(AM):

Perez was the father of Hezron,(AN)

19 Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,(AO)

20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,(AP)

Nahshon the father of Salmon,[d]

21 Salmon the father of Boaz,(AQ)

Boaz the father of Obed,

22 Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of David.

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 4:1 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 3, 6, 8 and 14.
  2. Ruth 4:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts he
  3. Ruth 4:5 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew (see also Septuagint) Naomi and from Ruth the Moabite, you acquire the
  4. Ruth 4:20 A few Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also verse 21 and Septuagint of 1 Chron. 2:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Salma