Study Desk

Now it came about in the days ^(C1)when the judges ^(F1)governed, that there was ^(C2)a famine in the land. And a man ^(C3)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab ^(F2)with his wife and his two sons.

The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they ^(C1)entered the land of Moab and remained there.

Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.

And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

Then ^(F1)both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had ^(C1)visited His people by ^(C2)giving them food.

So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to ^(F1)your mother's house. ^(C1)May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

"May the LORD grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept.

However, they said to her, "No, but we will return with you to your people."

But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that ^(C1)they may be your husbands?

"Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons,

would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because ^(C1)the hand of the LORD has come out against me."

And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her ^(C1)gods; return after your sister-in-law."

But Ruth said, "Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

"Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May ^(C1)the LORD do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates ^(F1)me from you."

When ^(C1)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(C1)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^(F1)the women said, "Is this Naomi?"

But she said to them, "Do not call me ^(F1)Naomi; call me ^(F2)Mara, for ^(F3)(C1)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

"I went away full, but ^(C1)the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me and ^(F1)the Almighty has afflicted me?"

So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at ^(C1)the beginning of barley harvest.

Now Naomi had ^(F1)a relative of her husband, a ^(F2)man of great wealth, of the family of ^(C1)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and ^(C1)glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."

So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and ^(F1)she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "^(C1)May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you."

Then Boaz said to his servant who was ^(F1)in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"

And the servant ^(F1)in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.

"And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while."

Then Boaz said to Ruth, "^(F1)Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here.

"Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the ^(F1)water jars and drink from what the servants draw."

Then she ^(C1)fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"

Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.

"^(C1)May the LORD reward your ^(F1)work, and may your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, ^(C2)under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken ^(F1)kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants."

And at mealtime Boaz said to her, "^(F1)Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied ^(C1)and had some left.

When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ^(F1)insult her.

"Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her."

So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ^(F1)ephah of barley.

And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and ^(C1)gave ^(F1)Naomi what she had left after ^(F2)she was satisfied.

Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who ^(C1)took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz."

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "^(C1)May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative; he is one of our ^(C2)redeemers."

Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "^(F1)Furthermore, he said to me, 'You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.'"

And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field."

So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until ^(C1)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek ^(F1)security for you, that it may go well for you?

"Now then, is Boaz not ^(C1)our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight.

"Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

"And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall ^(F1)take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do."

And she said to her, "^(C1)All that you say I will do."

So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her.

When Boaz had eaten and drunk and ^(C1)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down.

And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and ^(F1)bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet.

So he said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer."

Then he said, "^(C1)May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.

"So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all ^(F1)my people in the city know that you are ^(C1)a woman of excellence.

"But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I.

"Remain this night, and when morning comes, ^(C1)if he will ^(F1)redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to ^(F1)redeem you, then I will redeem you, ^(C2)as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning."

So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, "^(C1)Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor."

Again he said, "Give me the shawl that is on you and hold it." So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then ^(F1)she went into the city.

When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "^(F1)How did it go, my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done for her.

She also said, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, 'Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'"

Then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter ^(F1)turns out; for the man will not rest until he has ^(F2)settled it today."

Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, ^(C1)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, "Come over here, ^(F1)friend, sit down here." And he came over and sat down.

Then he took ten men of the ^(C1)elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

And he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land ^(C1)which belonged to our brother Elimelech.

"So I thought that I would ^(F1)inform you, saying, '^(C1)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if ^(F2)not, tell me so that I may know; for ^(C2)there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it."

Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order ^(C1)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance."

Then ^(C1)the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would ^(F1)jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it."

Now this was ^(C1)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel.

So the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." And he removed his sandal.

Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.

"Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so ^(C1)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the ^(F1)court of his birth place; you are witnesses today."

And all the people who were ^(F1)in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home ^(C1)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve ^(F2)wealth in Ephrathah and ^(F3)become famous in Bethlehem.

"Moreover, may your house be like the house of ^(C1)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the ^(F1)descendants whom the LORD will give you by this young woman."

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And ^(C1)the LORD ^(F1)enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

Then the ^(C1)women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name ^(F1)become famous in Israel.

"May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you ^(F1)(C1)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."

Then Naomi took the child and ^(F1)laid him in her lap, and became his nurse.

And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi!" So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Now these are the generations of Perez: ^(C1)Perez fathered Hezron,

Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab,

and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon,

and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed,

and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.