4And Boaz had gone up to the city gate and sat there. And look, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken was passing by. And he said, “Come over here to sit, friend.”^a And he came over and sat. ²And he took ten men from the elders of the city and said, “Sit here.” And they sat. ³And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who returned from the countryside of Moab, is selling the tract of land which was for our brother Elimelech. ⁴And I thought I would tell you^b and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of^c those sitting and before the elders of my people,’ if you want to redeem it, redeem it. But if you do not want to redeem, tell me so that I may know, for there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.” And he said, “I want to redeem it.” ⁵And Boaz said, “On the day of your acquiring the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead man, in order to raise up for the name of the dead his inheritance.” ⁶And the redeemer said, “I am not able to redeem for myself, lest I ruin my inheritance. You redeem for yourself my kinsman-redemption, for I am not able to redeem it.”

⁷(Now this was the custom in former times^d in Israel concerning the kinsman-redemption and transfer of property: to confirm the matter, a man removed his sandal and gave it to his fellow countryman. This was the manner of attesting in Israel.)

Read in Logos

Footnotes

aLiterally “certain someone”
bLiterally “I would open your ear”
cLiterally “Buy before”
dLiterally “before faces”