Boaz Marries Ruth

4 Boaz went to the city gate [^Cthe hub of the town for judicial, business, and social interaction] and sat there until the ·close relative [guardian; kinsman-redeemer; 2:20] he had mentioned passed by. Boaz called to him, “·Come here [^LTurn aside], ·friend [or so-and-so; ^Cthe man is not named, perhaps ironically because he refused to preserve Naomi’s family name], and sit down.” So the man ·came over [turned aside] and sat down. ² Boaz gathered ten of the elders of the city and told them, “Sit down here!” So they sat down.

³ Then Boaz said to the ·close relative [guardian; kinsman-redeemer], “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, ·wants to sell [is selling] the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech [^Cit was important in Israel to keep property in the family]. ⁴ So I ·decided [or thought it my obligation] to tell you about it: If you want to ·buy back the land [redeem it], then ·buy it [redeem] in front of the people who are sitting here and in front of the elders of my people. But if you don’t want to buy it, tell me, because you are the ·only one [or first in line] who can buy it, and I am next after you.”

The close relative answered, “I will ·buy back the land [redeem it].”

⁵ Then Boaz explained, “When you ·buy [acquire] the land from [^Lthe hand of] Naomi, you must also ·marry [acquire] Ruth, the Moabite, the dead man’s wife. ·That way, the land will stay in the dead man’s name [^L…to raise up a name for the dead man upon his inheritance].”

⁶ The ·close relative [guardian; kinsman-redeemer] answered, “I can’t ·buy back the land [redeem it]. If I did, I might ·harm [destroy; endanger; put in jeopardy] ·what I can pass on to my own sons [my inheritance]. I cannot ·buy the land back [redeem it], so ·buy it [redeem it for] yourself.”