1. And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was

a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn

in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi,

and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of

Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued

there.

3 And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two

sons.

4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was

Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten

years.

5 And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was left of her

two children and of her husband.

6. Then 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 how that

Jehovah had visited his people in giving them bread.

7 And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two

daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land

of Judah.

8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to

her mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the

dead, and with me.

9 Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of

her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and

wept.

10 And they said unto her, Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy

people.

11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? have

I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a

husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even have a husband

to-night, and should also bear sons;

13 would ye therefore tarry till they were grown? would ye therefore stay

from having husbands? nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your

sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is gone forth against me.

14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her

mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her.

15 And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people,

and unto her god: return thou after thy sister-in-law.

16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from

following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou

lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;

17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do

so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.

18 And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she

left off speaking unto her.

19. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass,

when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them,

and [the women] said, Is this Naomi?

20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the

Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

21 I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why

call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the

Almighty hath afflicted me?

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with

her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in

the beginning of barley harvest.

1. And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of

the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and

glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

3 And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and

her hap was to light on the portion of the field belonging unto Boaz, who

was of the family of Elimelech.

4. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers,

Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless thee.

5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose

damsel is this?

6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is

the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

7 And she said, Let me glean, I pray you, and gather after the reapers

among the sheaves. So she came, and hath continued even from the morning

until now, save that she tarried a little in the house.

8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to

glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my

maidens.

9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after

them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and

when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the

young men have drawn.

10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said

unto him, Why have I found favor in thy sight, that thou shouldest take

knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me, all

that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband;

and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy

nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knewest not heretofore.

12 Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of

Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.

13 Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, for that thou

hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly unto thy handmaid,

though I be not as one of thy handmaidens.

14 And at meal-time Boaz said unto her, Come hither, and eat of the

bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers,

and they reached her parched grain, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and

left thereof.

15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men,

saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not.

16 And also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let

her glean, and rebuke her not.

17. So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that which

she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

18 And she took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw

what she had gleaned: and she brought forth and gave to her that which she

had left after she was sufficed.

19 And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day?

and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee.

And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The

man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz.

20 And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who

hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi

said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.

21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yea, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep

fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter,

that thou go out with his maidens, and that they meet thee not in any other

field.

23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of

barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

1. And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not

seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

2 And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold,

he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee,

and get thee down to the threshing-floor, but make not thyself known unto

the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place

where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay

thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest I will do.

6. And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all

that her mother-in-law bade her.

7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to

lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and

uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned

himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid:

spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

10 And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter: thou hast showed

more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou

followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou

sayest; for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a worthy

woman.

12 And now it is true that I am a near kinsman; howbeit there is a

kinsman nearer than I.

13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will

perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's

part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do

the part of a kinsman to thee, as Jehovah liveth: lie down until the

morning.

14. And she lay at his feet until the morning. And she rose up before one

could discern another. For he said, Let it not be known that the woman came

to the threshing-floor.

15 And he said, Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it; and she

held it; and he measured six [measures] of barley, and laid it on her: and

he went into the city.

16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my

daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

17 And she said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me; for he said,

Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.

18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter

will fall; for the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this

day.

1. Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the

near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one!

turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down

here. And they sat down.

3 And he said unto the near kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the

country of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother

Elimelech's:

4 And I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying, Buy it before them that

sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it,

redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know;

for there is none to redeem it besides thee; and I am after thee. And he

said, I will redeem it.

5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi,

thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise

up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

6 And the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar

mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I

cannot redeem it.

7 Now this was [the custom] in former time in Israel concerning redeeming

and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe,

and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the [manner of] attestation in

Israel.

8 So the near kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thyself. And he drew off

his shoe.

9. And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are

witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all

that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.

10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to

be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the

name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate

of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are

witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel

and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou

worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto

Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman.

13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her,

and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son.

14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not left

thee this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel.

15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine

old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee

than seven sons, hath borne him.

16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse

unto it.

17 And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son

born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse,

the father of David.

18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begat Hezron,

19 and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,

20 and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

21 and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

22 and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.