¹⁴ And at mealtime Bo′az said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her parched grain; and she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. ¹⁵ When she rose to glean, Bo′az instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. ¹⁶ And also pull out some from the bundles for her, and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening; then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. ¹⁸ And she took it up and went into the city; she showed her mother-in-law what she had gleaned, and she also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. ¹⁹ And 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, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Bo′az.” ²⁰ And Na′omi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Na′omi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.” ²¹ And Ruth the Moabitess said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my servants, till they have finished all my harvest.’” ²² And Na′omi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is well, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, lest in another field you be molested.” ²³ So she kept close to the maidens of Bo′az, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3 Then Na′omi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a home for you, that it may be well with you? ² Now is not Bo′az our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³ Wash therefore 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. ⁴ But 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 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had told her. ⁷ And when Bo′az had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and lay down. ⁸ At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! ⁹ He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant; spread your skirt over your maidservant, for you are next of kin.” ¹⁰ And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; you have made this last kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear, I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of worth. ¹² And now it is true that I am a near kinsman, yet there is a kinsman nearer than I. ¹³ Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will do the part of the next of kin for you, well; let him do it; but if he is not willing to do the part of the next of kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will do the part of the next of kin for you. Lie down until the morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another; and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ And he said, “Bring the mantle you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and laid it upon her; then she went into the city. ¹⁶ And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, ¹⁷ saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” 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.”

The Marriage of Boaz and Ruth

4 And Bo′az went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the next of kin, of whom Bo′az had spoken, came by. So Bo′az said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here”; and he turned aside and sat down. ² And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here”; so they sat down. ³ Then he said to the next of kin, “Na′omi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land which belonged to our kinsman Elim′elech. ⁴ So I thought I would tell you of it, and say, Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵ Then Bo′az said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Na′omi, you are also buying Ruth^[a] the Moabitess, the widow of the dead, in order to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance.” ⁶ Then the next of kin said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

⁷ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. ⁸ So when the next of kin said to Bo′az, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. ⁹ Then Bo′az said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Na′omi all that belonged to Elim′elech and all that belonged to Chil′ion and to Mahlon. ¹⁰ Also Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his native place; you are witnesses this day.” ¹¹ Then all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you prosper in Eph′rathah and be renowned in Bethlehem; ¹² and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

The Genealogy of David

¹³ So Bo′az took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴ Then the women said to Na′omi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next of kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! 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.” ¹⁶ Then Na′omi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. ¹⁷ And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Na′omi.” They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron of Ram, Ram of Ammin′adab, ²⁰ Ammin′adab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, ²¹ Salmon of Bo′az, Bo′az of Obed, ²² Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.

Samuel’s Birth and Dedication

1 There was a certain man of Ramatha′im-zo′phim of the hill country of E′phraim, whose name was Elka′nah the son of Jero′ham, son of Eli′hu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an E′phraimite. ² He had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Penin′nah. And Penin′nah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin′ehas, were priests of the Lord. ⁴ On the day when Elka′nah sacrificed, he would give portions to Penin′nah his wife and to all her sons and daughters; ⁵ and, although^[a] he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ And her rival used to provoke her sorely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸ And Elka′nah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

¹² As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. ¹⁴ And Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman sorely troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not regard your maidservant as a base woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have made to him.” ¹⁸ And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad.

¹⁹ They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elka′nah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her; ²⁰ and in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

²¹ And the man Elka′nah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and abide there for ever.” ²³ Elka′nah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him. ²⁴ And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,^[b] an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine; and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slew the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me my petition which I made to him. ²⁸ Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

And they^[c] worshiped the Lord there.