17She gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned—it was about an ephah of barley—18and carried it back with her to the town. When her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and when she also took out and gave her what she had left over after eating her fill, 19her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be he who took such generous notice of you!” So she told her mother-in-law whom she had worked with, saying, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not failed in His kindness to the living or to the dead! For,” Naomi explained to her daughter-in-law, “the man is related to us; he is one of our redeeming kinsmen.”c 21Ruth the Moabite said, “He even told me, ‘Stay close by my workers until all my harvest is finished.’ ” 22And Naomi answered her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is best, daughter, that you go out with his girls, and not be annoyed in some other field.” 23So she stayed close to the maidservants of Boaz, and gleaned until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were finished. Then she stayed at home with her mother-in-law.
3 Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “Daughter, I must seek a home for you, where you may be happy. 2Now there is our kinsman Boaz, whose girls you were close to. He will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor tonight. 3So bathe, anoint yourself, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. But do not disclose yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4When he lies down, note the place where he lies down, and go over and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what you are to do.” 5She replied, “I will do everything you tell me.”
6She went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. 7Boaz ate and drank, and in a cheerful mood went to lie down beside the grainpile. Then she went over stealthily and un-covered his feet and lay down. 8In the middle of the night, the man gave a start and pulled back—there was a woman lying at his feet!
9“Who are you?” he asked. And she replied, “I am your handmaid Ruth. a-Spread your robe over your handmaid,-a for you are a redeeming kinsman.”
10He exclaimed, “Be blessed of the LORD, daughter! Your latest deed of loyalty is greater than the first, in that you have not turned to younger men, whether poor or rich.b 11And now, daughter, have no fear. I will do in your behalf whatever you ask, for all the c-elders of my town-c know what a fine woman you are. 12But while it is true I am a redeeming kinsman, there is another redeemer closer than I. 13Stay for the night. Then in the morning, if he will act as a redeemer, good! let him redeem. But if he does not want to act as redeemer for you, I will do so myself, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.”
14So she lay at his feet until dawn. She rose before one person could distinguish another, for he thought, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15And he said, “Hold out the shawl you are wearing.” She held it while he measured out six measures of barley, and he put it on her back.
When shed got back to the town, 16she came to her mother-in-law, who asked, “How is it with you, daughter?” She told her all that the man had done for her; 17and she added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying to me, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law emptyhanded.’ ” 18And Naomi said, “Stay here, daughter, till you learn how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.”
4 Meanwhile, Boaz had gone to the gate and sat down there. And now the redeemer whom Boaz had mentioned passed by. He called, “Come over and sit down here, So-and-so!” And he came over and sat down. 2Then [Boaz] took ten elders of the town and said, “Be seated here”; and they sat down.
3He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, now returned from the country of Moab, must sell the piece of land which belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. 4I thought I should disclose the matter to you and say: Acquire it in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you are willing to redeem it, redeem! But if youa will not redeem, tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem but you, and I come after you.” “I am willing to redeem it,” he replied. 5Boaz continued, “When you acquire the property from Naomi b-and from Ruth the Moabite, you must also acquire the wife of the deceased,-b so as to perpetuate the name of the deceased upon his estate.” 6The redeemer replied, “Then I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own estate.c You take over my right of redemption, for I am unable to exercise it.”
7Now this was formerly done in Israel in cases of redemption or ex-change: to validate any transaction, one man would take off his sandal and hand it to the other. Such was the practiced in Israel. 8So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Acquire for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9And Boaz said to the elders and to the rest of the people, “You are witnesses today that I am acquiring from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10I am also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, so as to perpetuate the name of the deceased upon his estate, that the name of the deceased may not disappear from among his kinsmen and from the gate of his home town. You are witnesses today.”
11All the people at the gate and the elders answered, “We are. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel! Prosper in Ephrathahe and perpetuate your name in Bethlehem! 12And may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah—through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
13So Boaz married Ruth; she became his wife, and he cohabited with her. The LORD let her conceive, and she bore a son. 14And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not withheld a redeemer from you today! May his name be perpetuated in Israel! 15He will renew your life and sustain your old age; for he is born of your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons.”
16Naomi took the child and held it to her bosom. She became its foster mother, 17and the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi!” They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, father of David.
18This is the line of Perez: Perez begot Hezron, 19Hezron begot Ram, Ram begot Amminadab, 20Amminadab begot Nahshon, Nahshon begot Salmon,f 21Salmon begot Boaz, Boaz begot Obed, 22Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
a I.e., the leaders who arose in the period before the monarchy; others “judges.”
b-b A formula of imprecation.
c I.e., “Pleasantness.”
d I.e., “Bitterness.”
e Usually rendered “the Almighty.”
f-f Others “testified against.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Lit. “Have you not heard, daughter?”
c Cf. Lev. 25.25 and note and Deut. 25.5–6. The fact that Boaz was a kinsman of Ruth’s dead husband opened up the possibility of providing an heir for the latter.
a-a A formal act of espousal; cf. Ezek. 16.8.
b I.e., she sought out a kinsman of her dead husband; see note at 2.20 above. Her first act of loyalty had been to return with Naomi.
c-c Lit. “gate of my people.”
d So in many Heb. mss; most mss. read “he.”
a So many Heb. mss., Septuagint, and Targum; most mss. read “he.”
b-b Emendation yields “you must also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the deceased”; cf. v. 10.
c I.e., by expending capital for property which will go to the son legally regarded as Mablon’s; see Deut. 25.5–6.
d Understanding Heb. te ‘udah in the sense of the Arabic ‘ādah and Syriac ‘yādā. Cf. Ibn Ezra.
e Ephrathah is another name applied to Bethlehem; cf. 1.2; Gen. 35.16, 19; 48.7; Mic. 5.1.
f Heb. “Salmah.”
Lamentations
1
aAlas!
Lonely sits the city
Once great with people!
She that was great among nations
Is become like a widow;
The princess among states
Is become a thrall.
2Bitterly she weeps in the night,
Her cheek wet with tears.
There is none to comfort her
Of all her friends.
All her allies have betrayed her;
They have become her foes.
3Judah has gone into exile
Because of misery and harsh oppression;
When she settled among the nations,
She found no rest;
All her pursuers overtook her
b-In the narrow places.-b
4Zion’s roads are in mourning,
Empty of festival pilgrims;
All her gates are deserted.
Her priests sigh,
Her maidens are unhappy—
She is utterly disconsolate!
5Her enemies are now the masters,
Her foes are at ease,
Because the LORD has afflicted her
For her many transgressions;
Her infants have gone into captivity
Before the enemy.
6Gone from Fair Zion are all
That were her glory;
Her leaders were like stags
That found no
