3

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

¹One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home⚓ for you, where you will be well provided for. ²Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴When 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.”
⁵“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. ⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
⁷When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!
⁹“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer⚓ of our family.”
¹⁰“The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹And 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. ¹²Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. ¹³Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
¹⁴So 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.”
¹⁵He also said, “Bring me the shawl 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⚓ went back to town.
¹⁶When 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 ¹⁷and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”
¹⁸Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”

3

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

¹Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ⚓shall I not seek ⚓security for you, that it may be well with you? ²Now Boaz, ⚓whose 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 ⚓anoint 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 ⚓his 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. ⚓Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are ⚓a close relative.”
¹⁰Then he said, ⚓“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ⚓at 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 a virtuous woman. ¹²Now it is true that I am a ⚓close relative; however, ⚓there is a relative closer than I. ¹³Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ⚓perform 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, ⚓as 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, ⚓“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
¹⁶When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “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, ⚓“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.”