Ruth 1–4

Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab

1Now it came to pass, in the days when ^athe judges ¹ruled, that there was ^ba famine in the land. And a certain man of ^cBethlehem, Judah, went to ²dwell in the country of ^dMoab, he and his wife and his two sons. ²The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—^eEphrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went ^fto the country of Moab and remained there. ³Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. ⁴Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they ³dwelt there about ten years. ⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.

Naomi Returns with Ruth

⁶Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had ^gvisited ⁴His people by ^hgiving them bread. ⁷Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ⁱ“Go, return each to her mother’s house. ^jThe Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt ^kwith the dead and with me. ⁹The Lord grant that you may find ^lrest, each in the house of her husband.”

So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”

¹¹But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, ^mthat they may be your husbands? ¹²Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, ¹³would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that ⁿthe hand of the Lord has gone out against me!”

¹⁴Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth ^oclung to her.

¹⁵And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to ^pher people and to her gods; ^qreturn after your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶But Ruth said:

^r“Entreat ⁵me not to leave you,

Or to turn back from following after you;

For wherever you go, I will go;

And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

^sYour people shall be my people,

And your God, my God.

¹⁷Where you die, I will die,

And there will I be buried.

^tThe Lord do so to me, and more also,

If anything but death parts you and me.”

^18uWhen she saw that she ⁶was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

¹⁹Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that ^vall the city was excited because of them; and the women said, ^w“Is this Naomi?”

²⁰But she said to them, “Do not call me ⁷Naomi; call me ⁸Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹I went out full, ^xand the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and ⁹the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem ^yat the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Meets Boaz

2There was a ^arelative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of ^bElimelech. His name was ^cBoaz. ²So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the ^dfield, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

³Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴Now behold, Boaz came from ^eBethlehem, and said to the reapers, ^f“The Lord be with you!”

And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman ^gwho came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. ⁹Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

¹⁰So she ^hfell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found ⁱfavor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

¹¹And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, ^jall that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. ^12kThe Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, ^lunder whose wings you have come for refuge.”

¹³Then she said, ^m“Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken ¹kindly to your maidservant, ⁿthough I am not like one of your maidservants.”

¹⁴Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and ^owas satisfied, and kept some back. ¹⁵And when she rose up to ²glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ³reproach her. ¹⁶Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of ^pbarley. ¹⁸Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her ^qwhat she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who ^rtook notice of you.”

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

²⁰Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ^s“Blessed be he of the Lord, who ^thas not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, ^uone of ⁴our close relatives.”

²¹Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”

²²And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not ⁵meet you in any other field.” ²³So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

3Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ^ashall I not seek ^bsecurity ¹for you, that it may be well with you? ²Now Boaz, ^cwhose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³Therefore wash yourself and ^danoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

⁵And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”

⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. ⁷And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^ehis heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. ^fTake ²your maidservant under your wing, for you are ^ga ³close relative.”

¹⁰Then he said, ^h“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ⁱat the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are ^ja virtuous woman. ¹²Now it is true that I am a ^kclose relative; however, ^lthere is a relative closer than I. ¹³Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ^mperform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, ⁿas the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, ^o“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵Also he said, “Bring the ⁴shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then ⁵she went into the city.

¹⁶When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ⁶“Is that you, my daughter?”

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

¹⁸Then she said, ^p“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”

Boaz Redeems Ruth

4Now Boaz went up to the…