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And after that Ruth had turned (again) to her mother-in-law, she heard of her, My daughter, I shall seek rest to thee, and I shall purvey that it be well to thee. (And sometime later, when Ruth had returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi said to her, My daughter, I shall seek rest for thee, and I shall purvey that it be well with thee.)

This Boaz, to whose damsels thou were joined (to) in the field, is our kinsman, and in this night he winnoweth the cornfloor of barley (and tonight he thresheth barley at his threshing floor).

Therefore be thou washed, and anointed, and be thou clothed with more honest clothes, and go thou down into the cornfloor; the man see not thee, till he have ended to eat and to drink. (And so be thou washed, and anointed, and be thou clothed with more honourable, or more decent, clothes, and then go thou down to the threshing floor; but do not let the man see thee until he hath finished eating and drinking.)

Forsooth when he goeth to sleep, mark thou the place in which he sleepeth; and thou shalt come, and uncover the cloak, with which he is covered, from the part of the feet, and thou shalt cast thee down, and thou shalt lie there. Forsooth he shall say to thee, what thou oughtest to do.

And Ruth answered, Whatever thing thou commandest to me, I shall do.

And she went down into the cornfloor (And she went down to the threshing floor), and did all things which her mother-in-law commanded to her.

And when Boaz had eaten and (had) drunk, and was made more glad, and had gone to sleep beside the mound of sheaves, Ruth came, and hid herself; and when the cloth was uncovered from his feet, she casted down herself (and she turned back the cloak over his feet, and lay herself down).

And lo! now at midnight, the man dreaded, and was troubled (And lo! at midnight, the man was startled, or was afraid, and he woke up from his sleep); and he saw a woman lying at his feet;

and he said to her, Who art thou? She answered, I am Ruth, thine handmaid; stretch forth thy cloth on thy servantess, for thou art nigh of kin. (and he said to her, Who art thou? She answered, I am Ruth, thy servantess; stretch forth thy cloak over thy servantess, for thou art my next of kin.)

10 And he said, Daughter, thou art blessed of the Lord, and thou hast overcome the former mercy with the latter (and now thou hast surpassed thy earlier proof of family devotion, or loyalty, with this one); for thou followedest not young men, poor either rich.

11 Therefore, do not thou dread, but whatever thing thou shalt say to me, I shall do to thee; for all the people that dwelleth within the gates of my city know, that thou art a woman of virtue. (And so, do not thou fear, but whatever that thou shalt ask of me, I shall do for thee; for all the people who liveth within the gates of my city know, that thou art a woman of virtue.)

12 And I forsake not, that I am of nigh kin, but another man is nearer kin than I; (And I do not deny, that I am your close kin, but another man is a closer kin than I;)

13 (so) rest thou here this night, and when the morrowtide is made, if the man will hold thee to wife by right of nigh kin (if the man will make thee his wife by right of next of kin), (then) the thing is well done; and if he will not, (then) I shall take thee without any doubt, (as) the Lord liveth; (so) sleep thou till the morrowtide.

14 Therefore she slept at his feet till to the going away of [the] night, and then she rose (up), before that men should know each other. And Boaz said to her, Be thou ware lest any man know, that thou camest hither.

15 And again he said, Stretch forth thy mantle with which thou art covered, and hold thou with ever either hand. And while she stretched forth and held, he meted six measures of barley, and putted on her; and she bare, and entered into the city, (And then he said, Stretch forth thy mantle with which thou art covered, and hold thou it with both hands. And while she stretched it forth and held it, he measured, or counted, out six measures of barley, and put it on her mantle; and she carried it, and went into the city,)

16 and came to her mother-in-law. Which said to Ruth, What hast thou done, daughter? And Ruth told to her all things, which the man had done to her. (and came home to her mother-in-law. And Naomi said to Ruth, What happened, my daughter? And Ruth told her all the things, that the man had done for her.)

17 And Ruth said, Lo! he gave to me six measures of barley; and he said, I will not that thou turn again void to thy mother-in-law. (And Ruth added, Lo! he gave me six measures of barley; for he said, I will not have it that thou return empty-handed to thy mother-in-law.)

18 And Naomi said, Abide, daughter, till we see what issue the thing shall have (And Naomi said, Just wait, or have patience, daughter, until we see what shall happen); for the man shall not cease, no but he [ful]fill those things which he spake.

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi(A) said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home[a](B) for you, where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative(C) of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.(D) Wash,(E) put on perfume,(F) and get dressed in your best clothes.(G) Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.(H) When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

“I will do whatever you say,”(I) Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor(J) and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits,(K) he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile.(L) Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment(M) over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer[b](N) of our family.”

10 “The Lord bless you,(O) my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier:(P) You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.(Q) 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family,(R) there is another who is more closely related than(S) I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer,(T) good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives(U) I will do it.(V) Lie here until morning.”

14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.(W)(X)

15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl(Y) you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he[c] went back to town.

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

Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 3:1 Hebrew find rest (see 1:9)
  2. Ruth 3:9 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 12 and 13.
  3. Ruth 3:15 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac she