⁷ So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah.

¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?^{(A) 12} Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³ would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.”^{(B) 14} Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.^(A)

¹⁹ So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them,

²² So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.^(D)

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man of the family of Elimelech whose name was Boaz.^{(A) 2} And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.”^{(B) 3} So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

¹⁹ Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, saying, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”^{(A) 20} Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.”^[a](B)

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3 Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you.^{(A) 2} Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.^{(B) 3} Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.^{(C) 4} When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” ⁵ She said to her, “All that you say I will do.”

¹⁶ She came to her mother-in-law, who said, “How did things go with you,^[a] my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, ¹⁷ saying, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ” ¹⁸ She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”^(A)

The Genealogy of David

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son.^{(A) 14} Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin,^[a] and may his name be renowned in Israel!^{(B) 15} He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.”^{(C) 16} Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse. ¹⁷ The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.