Ruth’s Redemption Assured

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ^(A)shall I not seek ^(B)security^[a] for you, that it may be well with you? ² Now Boaz, ^(C)whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³ Therefore wash yourself and ^(D)anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. ⁷ And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^(E)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. ^(F)Take^[b] your maidservant under your wing, for you are ^(G)a ^[c]close relative.”

¹⁰ Then he said, ^(H)“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ^(I)at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a ^(J)virtuous woman. ¹² Now it is true that I am a ^(K)close relative; however, ^(L)there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ^(M)perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, ^(N)as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, ^(O)“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Also he said, “Bring the ^[d]shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then ^[e]she went into the city.

¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ^[f]“Is that you, my daughter?”

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

¹⁸ Then she said, ^(P)“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

¹⁰ Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they ^(A)mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. ^(B)He observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called ^[a]Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹² So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. ¹³ For ^(C)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham ^(D)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. ¹⁴ And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, ^(E)they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may ^[b]actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ¹⁷ ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; ^(F)for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of ^(G)the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also went and ^(H)fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

¹⁹ Joseph said to them, ^(I)“Do not be afraid, ^(J)for am I in the place of God? ^20 (K)But as for you, you meant evil against me; but ^(L)God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ²¹ Now therefore, do not be afraid; ^(M)I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke ^[c]kindly to them.

Death of Joseph^(N)

²² So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. ²³ Joseph saw Ephraim’s children ^(O)to the third generation. ^(P)The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, ^(Q)were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but ^(R)God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land ^(S)of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(T)Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely ^[d]visit you, and ^(U)you shall carry up my ^(V)bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.