Hello, my name is Ruth. I
am the daughter-in-law of Naomi and my late husband was Mahlon who was son of
Naomi and Elimelech and brother of Chilion who married Orpah. I loved my family
and was loyal to them and especially my mother-in-law!
Naomi Widowed
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the
land, and my future father-in-law of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the
country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. His name was Elimelech and
the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and
Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the
country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died,
and my mother-in-law was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives
including me; the name of Chilion’s wife was Orpah and Mahlon chose me as his
wife. We lived there about ten years, and then both Mahlon and Chilion died, so
that my mother-in-law Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi
Then my mother-in-law arose with me and Orpah to return from
the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had
visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she
was with Orpah and I, and we went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
But Naomi said to Orpah and I, “Go, return each of you to our mother's house.
May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her
husband!” Then she kissed me and she also kissed Orpah, and we lifted up our
voices and wept. And we said to her, “No, we will return with you to your
people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me?
Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my
daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I
have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would
you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from
marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake
that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then we lifted up our
voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but I clung to her!
As I clung to her, Orpah left, but I would not leave my mother-in-law alone!
Then Naomi said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to
her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But I said, “Do not
urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will
go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your
God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord
do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” After
I said all this my mother-in-law knew she could not get me to leave and spoke
no more.
Naomi and Ruth Return
So we went on until we came to Bethlehem. And when we came
to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of us. And one women said, “Is
this Naomi?” My mother-in-law then said to them, “Do not call me
Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went
away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the
Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So
Naomi returned, and I with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And we
came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth Meets Boaz
Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of
the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And I said to Naomi, “Let me go to
the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall
find favor.” And my mother-in-law said to me, “Go, my daughter.” So
I set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and I happened
to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of
Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the
reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” Then
Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman
is this?” He was talking about me! And the servant who was in
charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back
with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather
among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from
early morning until now, except for a short rest.” Then Boaz said to me, “Now,
listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but
keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are
reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you?
And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have
drawn.” He was so nice to me and I fell on my face, bowing to the ground, and
said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice
of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered me, “All that you have done
for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to
me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a
people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done,
and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose
wings you have come to take refuge!” Then I said, “I have found favor in your
eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant,
though I am not one of your servants.” And at mealtime Boaz said to me, “Come
here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” Now he is inviting me
to eat with him! I sat beside the reapers, and he passed to me roasted grain.
And I ate until I was satisfied, and I even had some left over. When I rose to
glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the
sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for
her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” So I gleaned in the
field until evening. Then I beat out what I had gleaned, and it was about an
ephah of barley. And I took it up and went into the city. My mother-in-law,
Naomi, saw what I had gleaned. I also brought out and gave my mother-in-law what
food I had left over after being satisfied. And my mother-in-law said to me, “Where did you glean today? And
where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So I told
her with whom I had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today
is Boaz.” And Naomi said to me, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness
has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to me, “The man is a
close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” And I said, “Besides, he said to
me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my
harvest.’” And my mother-in-law said to me, “It is good, my
daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be
assaulted.” So I kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end
of the barley and wheat harvests. And I also lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
Then Naomi, my mother-in-law, said to me, “My daughter,
should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our
relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight
at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put
on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself
known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies
down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie
down, and he will tell you what to do.” And I replied, “All that you say I will
do.” So I went down to the threshing floor and did just as my mother-in-law had
commanded me to do. 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. Then I came softly and
uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned
over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said to me, “Who are you?” And I
answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for
you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter.
You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not
gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear.
I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you
are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a
redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem
you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the
Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
So I lay at his feet until
the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it
not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” And he said, “Bring
the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So I held it, and he measured out
six measures of barley and put it on me. Then I went into the city. And
when I came to my mother-in-law, Naomi said, “How did you fare, my daughter?”
Then I told her all that the man had done for me, saying, “These six measures
of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed
to your mother-in-law.’” She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how
the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter
today.”
Boaz Redeems Ruth
Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And
behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn
aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. And
he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they
sat down. Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back
from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our
relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say,
‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders
of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me,
that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after
you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the
field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of
the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” Then
the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own
inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” Now
this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and
exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it
to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So
when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day
that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and
all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of
Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his
inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his
brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” Then
all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May
the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah,
who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah
and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez,
whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you
by this young woman.”
Ruth and Boaz Marry
So Boaz took me, and I became his wife. And he went in to
me, and the Lord gave me conception, and I bore a son. Then I said to Naomi,
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may
his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a
nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more
to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took my child and
laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the
neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They
named my son Obed. He was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. God
blessed my life because of my commitment to my mother-in-law. He gave me a son
who fathered the father of David.
The Genealogy of David
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