RUTH AND BOAZ MARRY

4 Boaz went to the gate of the towng and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz said, “Come over hereK and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. 2 Then Boaz took ten men of the town’s eldersh and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. 3 He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the territory of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech.i 4 I thought I should inform you: Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do it. But if you doM not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.”

“I want to redeem it,” he answered.

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you will acquireN Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”O,j

6 The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

7 At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandalk and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.

8 So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”

9 Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his hometown. You are witnesses today.”

11 All the people who were at the city gate, including the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah,l who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and your name well known in Bethlehem. 12 May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah,m because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

13 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord granted conception to her, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons,a has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

DAVID’S GENEALOGY FROM JUDAH’S SON

18 Now these are the family records of Perez:

Perez fathered Hezron,

19 Hezron fathered Ram,*

Ram fathered Amminadab,

20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon,

Nahshon fathered Salmon,

21 Salmon fathered Boaz,

Boaz fathered Obed,

22 Obed fathered Jesse,

and Jesse fathered David.b

1 SAMUEL

HANNAH’S VOW

1 There was a man from Ramathaim-zophima inA the hill country of Ephraim.b His name was Elkanahc son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives,d the first named Hannahe and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. 3 This man would go up from his town every yearf to worship and to sacrificeg to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh,h where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s priests.

4 Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meati to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters. 5 But he gave a doubleB portionj to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving. 6 Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving. 7 Year after year, when she went up to the Lord’s house,k her rival taunted her in this way. Hannah would weep and would not eat. 8 “Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband, Elkanah, would ask. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”l

9 On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.C The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.m 10 Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.n 11 Making a vow,o she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction,p remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”E,q

12 While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying silently,r and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk?s Get rid of your wine!”

15 “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.t 16 Don’t think of me as a wicked woman;u I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”v

17 Eli responded, “Go in peace,w and may the God of Israel grant the request you’ve made of him.”x

18 “May your servant find favor with you,”y she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.G,z

SAMUEL’S BIRTH AND DEDICATION

19 The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.aa Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.ab 20 After some time,H Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,I because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”

21 When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrificeac and his vow offering to the Lord, 22 Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the Lord’s presencead and to stay there permanently.”ae

23 Her husband, Elkanah, replied, “Do what you think is best,af and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm yourK word.”ag So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull,L half a bushelM of flour, and a clay jar of wine.ah Though the boy was still young,N she took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh.ai 25 Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

26 “Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live,aj my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this boy,ak and since the Lord gave me what I asked him for,a 28 I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”b Then heA worshiped the Lord there.B