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And Naomi her mother-in-law saith to her, `My daughter, do not I seek for thee rest, that it may be well with thee?

and now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night,

and thou hast bathed, and anointed thyself, and put thy garments upon thee, and gone down to the threshing-floor; let not thyself be known to the man till he complete to eat and to drink;

and it cometh to pass when he lieth down, that thou hast known the place where he lieth down, and hast gone in, and uncovered his feet, and lain down, -- and he doth declare to thee that which thou dost do.'

And she saith unto her, `All that thou sayest -- I do.'

And she goeth down [to] the threshing-floor, and doth according to all that her mother-in-law commanded her

And Boaz eateth and drinketh, and his heart is glad; and he goeth in to lie down at the end of the heap; and she cometh in gently, and uncovereth his feet, and lieth down.

And it cometh to pass, at the middle of the night, that the man trembleth, and turneth himself, and lo, a woman is lying at his feet.

And he saith, `Who [art] thou?' and she saith, `I [am] Ruth thy handmaid, and thou hast spread thy skirt over thy handmaid, for thou [art] a redeemer.'

10 And he saith, `Blessed [art] thou of Jehovah, my daughter; thou hast dealt more kindly at the latter end than at the beginning -- not to go after the young men, either poor or rich.

11 And now, my daughter, fear not, all that thou sayest I do to thee, for all the gate of my people doth know that thou [art] a virtuous woman.

12 And now, surely, true, that I [am] a redeemer, but also there is a redeemer nearer than I.

13 Lodge to night, and it hath been in the morning, if he doth redeem thee, well: he redeemeth; and if he delight not to redeem thee, then I have redeemed thee -- I; Jehovah liveth! lie down till the morning.'

14 And she lieth down at his feet till the morning, and riseth before one doth discern another; and he saith, `Let it not be known that the woman hath come into the floor.'

15 And he saith, `Give the covering which [is] on thee, and keep hold on it;' and she keepeth hold on it, and he measureth six [measures] of barley, and layeth [it] on her; and he goeth into the city.

16 And she cometh in unto her mother-in-law, and she saith, `Who [art] thou, my daughter?' and she declareth to her all that the man hath done to her.

17 And she saith, `These six [measures] of barley he hath given to me, for he said, Thou dost not go in empty unto thy mother-in-law.'

18 And she saith, `Sit still, my daughter, till thou dost know how the matter falleth, for the man doth not rest except he hath completed the matter to-day.'

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi(A) said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home[a](B) for you, where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative(C) of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.(D) Wash,(E) put on perfume,(F) and get dressed in your best clothes.(G) Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.(H) When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

“I will do whatever you say,”(I) Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor(J) and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits,(K) he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile.(L) Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment(M) over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer[b](N) of our family.”

10 “The Lord bless you,(O) my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier:(P) You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.(Q) 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family,(R) there is another who is more closely related than(S) I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer,(T) good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives(U) I will do it.(V) Lie here until morning.”

14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.(W)(X)

15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl(Y) you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he[c] went back to town.

16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”

Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 3:1 Hebrew find rest (see 1:9)
  2. Ruth 3:9 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 12 and 13.
  3. Ruth 3:15 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac she