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Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
2 Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side of the family. The relative’s name was Boaz. He was a very important man from the family of Elimelek.
2 Ruth, who was from Moab, spoke to Naomi. Ruth said, “Let me go out to the fields. I’ll pick up the grain that has been left. I’ll do it behind anyone who is pleased with me.”
Naomi said to her, “My daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to a field and began to pick up grain. She worked behind those cutting and gathering the grain. As it turned out, she was working in a field that belonged to Boaz. He was from the family of Elimelek.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He greeted those cutting and gathering the grain. He said, “May the Lord be with you!”
“And may the Lord bless you!” they replied.
5 Boaz spoke to the man in charge of his workers. He asked, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The man replied, “She’s from Moab. She came back from there with Naomi. 7 The young woman said, ‘Please let me walk behind the workers. Let me pick up the grain that is left.’ She came into the field. She has kept on working here from morning until now. She took only one short rest in the shade.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Dear woman, listen to me. Don’t pick up grain in any other field. Don’t go anywhere else. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Keep your eye on the field where the men are cutting grain. Walk behind the women who are gathering it. Pick up the grain that is left. I’ve told the men not to bother you. When you are thirsty, go and get a drink. Take water from the jars the men have filled.”
10 When Ruth heard that, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why are you being so kind to me? In fact, why are you even noticing me? I’m from another country.”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about you. I’ve heard about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know that you left your father and mother. I know that you left your country. You came to live with people you didn’t know before. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done. May the Lord, the God of Israel, bless you richly. You have come to him to find safety under his care.”
13 “Sir, I hope you will continue to be kind to me,” Ruth said. “You have made me feel safe. You have spoken kindly to me. And I’m not even as important as one of your servants!”
14 When it was time to eat, Boaz spoke to Ruth again. “Come over here,” he said. “Have some bread. Dip it in the wine vinegar.”
She sat down with the workers. Then Boaz offered her some grain that had been cooked. She ate all she wanted. She even had some left over. 15 Ruth got up to pick up more grain. Then Boaz gave orders to his men. He said, “Let her take some stalks from what the women have tied up. Don’t tell her she can’t. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her. Leave them for her to pick up. Don’t tell her she shouldn’t do it.”
17 So Ruth picked up grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the barley from the straw. The barley weighed 30 pounds. 18 She carried it back to town. Her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out the food left over from the lunch Boaz had given her. She gave it to Naomi.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you pick up grain today? Where did you work? May the man who noticed you be blessed!”
Then Ruth told her about the man whose field she had worked in. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “The Lord is still being kind to those who are living and those who are dead.” She continued, “That man is a close relative of ours. He’s one of our family protectors.”
21 Then Ruth, who was from Moab, said, “He told me more. He even said, ‘Stay with my workers until they have finished bringing in all my grain.’ ”
22 Naomi replied to her daughter-in-law Ruth. She said, “That will be good for you, my daughter. Go with the women who work for him. You might be harmed if you go to someone else’s field.”
23 So Ruth stayed close to the women who worked for Boaz as she picked up grain. She worked until the time when all the barley and wheat had been harvested. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
3 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi spoke to her. She said, “My daughter, I must find a home for you. It should be a place where you will be provided for. 2 You have been working with the women who work for Boaz. He’s a relative of ours. Tonight he’ll be separating the straw from his barley on the threshing floor. 3 So wash yourself. Put on some perfume. And put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let Boaz know you are there. Wait until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Notice where he lies down. Then go over and uncover his feet. Lie down there. He’ll tell you what to do.”
5 “I’ll do everything you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor. She did everything her mother-in-law had told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking, he was in a good mood. He went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Then Ruth approached quietly. She uncovered his feet and lay down there. 8 In the middle of the night, something surprised Boaz and woke him up. He turned and found a woman lying there at his feet!
9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I’m Ruth,” she said. “You are my family protector. So take good care of me by making me your wife.”
10 “Dear woman, may the Lord bless you,” he replied. “You are showing even more kindness now than you did earlier. You didn’t run after the younger men, whether they were rich or poor. 11 Dear woman, don’t be afraid. I’ll do for you everything you ask. All the people of my town know that you are an excellent woman. 12 It’s true that I’m a relative of yours. But there’s a family protector who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 So stay here for the night. In the morning if he wants to help you, good. Let him help you. But if he doesn’t want to, then I’ll do it. You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that I’ll help you. Lie down here until morning.”
14 So she stayed at his feet until morning. But she got up before anyone could be recognized. Boaz thought, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 He said to Ruth, “Bring me the coat you have around you. Hold it out.” So she did. He poured more than fifty pounds of barley into it and helped her pick it up. Then he went back to town.
16 Ruth came to her mother-in-law. Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me all this barley. He said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law with your hands empty.’ ”
18 Naomi said, “My daughter, sit down until you find out what happens. The man won’t rest until he settles the whole matter today.”
Boaz Marries Ruth
4 Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there. Right then, the family protector he had talked about came by. Then Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend. Sit down.” So the man went over and sat down.
2 Boaz brought ten of the elders of the town together. He said, “Sit down here.” So they did. 3 Then he spoke to the family protector. He said, “Naomi has come back from Moab. She’s selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention. I suggest that you buy the land. Buy it while those sitting here and the elders of my people are looking on as witnesses. If you are willing to buy it back, do it. But if you aren’t, tell me. Then I’ll know. No one has the right to buy it back except you. And I’m next in line.”
“I’ll buy it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “When you buy the property from Naomi, you must also marry Ruth. She is from Moab and is the dead man’s widow. So you must marry her. That’s because his property must continue to belong to his family.”
6 When the family protector heard that, he said, “Then I can’t buy the land. If I did, I might put my own property in danger. So you buy it. I can’t do it.”
7 In earlier times in Israel, there was a certain practice. It was used when family land was bought back and changed owners. The practice made the sale final. One person would take his sandal off and give it to the other. That was how people in Israel showed that a business matter had been settled.
8 So the family protector said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he took his sandal off.
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses. You have seen that I have bought land from Naomi. I have bought all the property that had belonged to Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I’ve also taken Ruth, who is from Moab, to become my wife. She is Mahlon’s widow. I’ve decided to marry her so the dead man’s name will stay with his property. Now his name won’t disappear from his family line or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. The woman is coming into your home. May the Lord make her like Rachel and Leah. Together they built up the family of Israel. May you be an important person in Ephrathah. May you be famous in Bethlehem. 12 The Lord will give you children through this young woman. May your family be like the family of Perez. He was the son Tamar had by Judah.”
Naomi Gains a Son
13 So Boaz married Ruth. Then he slept with her. The Lord blessed her so that she became pregnant. And she had a son. 14 The women said to Naomi, “We praise the Lord. Today he has provided a family protector for you. May this child become famous all over Israel! 15 He will make your life new again. He’ll take care of you when you are old. He’s the son of your very own daughter-in-law. She loves you. She is better to you than seven sons.”
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and took care of him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.
18 Here is the family line of Perez.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
19 Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
21 Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
22 Obed was the father of Jesse.
And Jesse was the father of David.
Jesus Heals an Official’s Son
43 After the two days, Jesus left for Galilee. 44 He himself had pointed out that a prophet is not respected in his own country. 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the people living there welcomed him. They had seen everything he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. That was because they had also been there.
46 Once more, Jesus visited Cana in Galilee. Cana is where he had turned the water into wine. A royal official was there. His son was sick in bed at Capernaum. 47 The official heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea. So he went to Jesus and begged him to come and heal his son. The boy was close to death.
48 Jesus told him, “You people will never believe unless you see signs and wonders.”
49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
50 “Go,” Jesus replied. “Your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said, and so he left. 51 While he was still on his way home, his slaves met him. They gave him the news that his boy was living. 52 He asked what time his son got better. They said to him, “Yesterday, at one o’clock in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
53 Then the father realized what had happened. That was the exact time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole family became believers.
54 This was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
16 He made the people in the land go hungry.
He destroyed all their food supplies.
17 He sent a man ahead of them into Egypt.
That man was Joseph. He had been sold as a slave.
18 The Egyptians put his feet in chains.
They put an iron collar around his neck.
19 He was in prison until what he said would happen came true.
The word of the Lord proved that he was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and let him out of prison.
The ruler of many nations set him free.
21 He put Joseph in charge of his palace.
He made him ruler over everything he owned.
22 Joseph was in charge of teaching the princes.
He taught the elders how to think and live wisely.
23 Then the rest of Jacob’s family went to Egypt.
The people of Israel lived as outsiders in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord gave his people so many children
that there were too many of them for their enemies.
25 He made the Egyptians hate his people.
The Egyptians made evil plans against them.
26 The Lord sent his servant Moses to the king of Egypt.
He sent Aaron, his chosen one, along with him.
27 The Lord gave them the power to do signs among the Egyptians.
They did his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 The Lord sent darkness over the land.
He did it because the Egyptians had refused to obey his words.
29 He turned their rivers and streams into blood.
He caused the fish in them to die.
30 Their land was covered with frogs.
Frogs even went into the bedrooms of the rulers.
31 The Lord spoke, and large numbers of flies came.
Gnats filled the whole country.
32 He turned their rain into hail.
Lightning flashed all through their land.
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees.
He broke down the trees in Egypt.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came.
There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted.
35 They ate up every green thing in the land.
They ate up what the land produced.
36 Then he killed the oldest son of every family in Egypt.
He struck down the oldest of all their sons.
26 Anyone who shows respect for the Lord has a strong tower.
It will be a safe place for their children.
27 Respect for the Lord is like a fountain that gives life.
It turns you away from the jaws of death.
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