3One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi spoke to her. She said, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to find a secure place for you? Shouldn’t you have peace and rest? Shouldn’t I find a home where things will go well with you? ²You have been with the female servants of 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. ⁴Notice 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. ⁶So she went down to the threshing floor. She did everything her mother-in-law had told her to do.

⁷When 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.

⁸In 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. ¹¹Dear woman, don’t be afraid. I’ll do for you everything you ask. All of the people of my town know that you are a noble 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. ¹³So 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.”

¹⁴So 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.”

¹⁵He 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.

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

Then Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her. ¹⁷She said, “He gave me all of this barley. He said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law with your hands empty.’ ”

¹⁸Naomi said, “My daughter, sit down until you find out what happens. The man won’t rest until he settles the whole matter today.”

Boaz Gets Married to Ruth

4Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there. 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.

²Boaz brought ten of the elders of the town together. He said, “Sit down here.” So they did.

³Then 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 Elimelech. ⁴I thought I should bring the matter to your attention. I suggest that you buy the land while those who are 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.

⁵Then Boaz said, “When you buy the land from Naomi and Ruth, who is from Moab, you must get married to Ruth. She’s the dead man’s widow. So you must take her as your wife. His name must stay with his property.”

⁶When 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.”

⁷In 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.

⁸So the family protector said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he took his sandal off.

⁹Then Boaz spoke to the elders and all of the people. He said, “Today you are witnesses. You have seen that I have bought land from Naomi. I have bought all of the property that had belonged to Elimelech, 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 get married to her so the dead man’s name will stay with his property. Now his name won’t disappear from his family line. It won’t disappear from the town records. Today you are witnesses!”

¹¹Then the elders and all who were at the gate spoke. They said, “We are witnesses. The woman is coming into your home. May the Lord make her to be like Rachel and Leah. Together they built up the nation of Israel. May you be an important person in Ephrathah. May you be famous in Bethlehem. ¹²The 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.”

The Family Line of David

¹³So Boaz got married to Ruth. She became his wife. Then he made love to her. The Lord blessed her so that she became pregnant. And she had a son.

¹⁴The 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! ¹⁵He 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.”

¹⁶Then Naomi put the child on her lap and took care of him. ¹⁷The women who were living there said, “Naomi has a son.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.

¹⁸Here is the family line of Perez.

Perez was the father of Hezron.

¹⁹Hezron was the father of Ram.

Ram was the father of Amminadab.

²⁰Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.

Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

²¹Salmon was the father of Boaz.

Boaz was the father of Obed.

²²Obed was the father of Jesse.

And Jesse was the father of David.

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