Chapter 3

Ruth Again Presents Herself. When Ruth was back with her mother-in-law, ¹ Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not be seeking a pleasing home for you?^{(A) 2 [a]}Now! Is not Boaz,^(B) whose young women you were working with, a relative of ours? This very night he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. ³ Now, go bathe and anoint yourself; then put on your best attire and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man before he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ But when he lies down, take note of the place where he lies; then go uncover a place at his feet^[b] and you lie down. He will then tell you what to do.” ⁵ “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth replied. ⁶ She went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her.

⁷ Boaz ate and drank to his heart’s content, and went to lie down at the edge of the pile of grain. She crept up, uncovered a place at his feet, and lay down. ⁸ Midway through the night, the man gave a start and groped about, only to find a woman lying at his feet. ⁹ “Who are you?” he asked. She replied, “I am your servant Ruth. Spread the wing of your cloak^[c] over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” ¹⁰ He said, “May the Lord bless you, my daughter! You have been even more loyal now than before in not going after the young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ Now rest assured, my daughter, I will do for you whatever you say; all my townspeople know you to be a worthy woman.^{[d] 12 (C)}Now, I am in fact a redeemer, but there is another redeemer closer than I.^{[e] 13} Stay where you are for tonight, and tomorrow, if he will act as redeemer for you, good. But if he will not, as the Lord lives, I will do it myself. Lie there until morning.”^{(D) 14} So she lay at his feet until morning, but rose before anyone could recognize another, for Boaz had said, “Let it not be known that this woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Then he said to her, “Take off the shawl you are wearing; hold it firmly.” When she did so, he poured out six measures of barley and helped her lift the bundle; then he himself left for the town.

¹⁶ She, meanwhile, went home to her mother-in-law, who asked, “How did things go, my daughter?” So she told her all the man had done for her, ¹⁷ and concluded, “He gave me these six measures of barley and said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty.’”^{(E) 18} Naomi then said, “Wait here, my daughter, until you learn what happens, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.”