Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days ^(A)when the judges ^[a]governed, that there was ^(B)a famine in the land. And a man ^(C)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab ^[b]with his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they ^(D)entered the land of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. ⁵ Then ^[c]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had ^(E)visited His people by ^(F)giving them food. ⁷ So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to ^[d]your mother’s house. ^(G)May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. ¹⁰ However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that ^(H)they may be your husbands? ¹² Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because ^(I)the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”

¹⁹ So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(A)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^[a]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ But she said to them, “Do not call me ^[b]Naomi; call me ^[c]Mara, for ^[d](B)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went away full, but ^(C)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and ^[e]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Boaz Will Redeem Ruth

3 Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek ^[a]security for you, that it may go well for you? ² Now then, is Boaz not ^(A)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 ^[b]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.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And ^(A)the Lord ^[a]enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the ^(B)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name ^[b]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 ^[c](C)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and ^[d]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: ^(D)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.