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](A)

⁹ He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.”^{[a](A) 10} He said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

⁵ David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him!^(A)

Levirate Marriage

⁵ “When brothers reside together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her,^{(A) 6} and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.^{(B) 7} But if the man has no desire to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’^(C)

²⁵ “If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.^(A)

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain;^{(A) 17} when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly^[a] searched for me and found me ¹⁸ —may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus.^(B)

Acknowledgment of the Philippians’ Gift

¹⁰ I rejoice^[a] in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me but had no opportunity to show it.^[b](A)