Ruth 3
King James Version
3 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.
7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.
14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
Ruth 3
International Children’s Bible
Naomi’s Plan
3 Then Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a suitable home for you. That would be good for you. 2 Now Boaz is our close relative.[a] You worked with his women servants. Tonight he will be working at the threshing floor. 3 Go wash yourself and put on perfume. Change your clothes, and go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let him see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Then he will lie down. Watch him so you will know the place where he lies down. Go there and lift the cover off his feet[b] and lie down. He will tell you what you should do.”
5 Then Ruth answered, “I will do everything you say.”
6 So Ruth went down to the threshing floor. She did all her mother-in-law told her to do. 7 After eating and drinking, Boaz was feeling good. He went to lie down beside the pile of grain. Then Ruth went to him quietly. She lifted the cover from his feet and lay down.
8 About midnight Boaz woke up suddenly and rolled over. He was startled! There was a woman lying near his feet! 9 Boaz asked, “Who are you?”
She said, “I am Ruth, your servant girl. Spread your cover over me because you are the one who is to take care of me.”
10 Then Boaz said, “The Lord bless you, my daughter. Your kindness to me is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You didn’t look for a young man to marry, either rich or poor. 11 Now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do everything you ask. All the people in our town know you are a very good woman. 12 And it is true, I am a relative who is to take care of you. But there is a man who is a closer relative to you than I. 13 But stay here tonight. In the morning we will see if he will take care of you. If he decides to take care of you, that is fine. If he refuses to take care of you, I myself will marry you. Then I will buy back Elimelech’s land for you. As surely as the Lord lives, I promise to do this. So lie here until morning.”
14 So Ruth lay near his feet until the morning. She rose while it was still too dark to be recognized. Boaz said to his servants, “Don’t tell anyone that the woman came here to the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Bring me your shawl. Now, hold it open.”
So Ruth held her shawl open, and Boaz poured six portions of barley into it. Boaz then put it on her back, and she went to the city.
16 Ruth went to the home of her mother-in-law. And Naomi asked, “How did you do, my daughter?”
So Ruth told Naomi everything that Boaz did for her. 17 She said, “Boaz gave me these six portions of barley. He said, ‘You must not go home without a gift for your mother-in-law.’”
18 Naomi answered, “Ruth, my daughter, wait until you hear what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do this day.”
Footnotes
- 2:20; 3:2 close relatives In Bible times the closest relative could marry a widow without children so she could have children. He would care for this family, but they and their property would not belong to him. They would belong to the dead husband.
- 3:4 lift . . . feet This showed Ruth was asking him to be her husband.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
