\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Ruth}
{\MTB The book of
\par }{\MT Ruth

\par }\ChapOne{1}{\SH Naomi and Ruth
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}In
the
time
when
the
judges
ruled,
there
was
once
a
famine
in
the
land.
A
man
from
Bethlehem
in
Judah
took
his
wife
and
two
sons
to
live
in
the
territory
of
Moab.
\VS{2}His
name
was
Elimelech
and
his
wife’s
was
Naomi,
and
his
two
sons
were
Mahlon
and
Chilion.
They
were
Ephrathites
from
Bethlehem
in
Judah.
After
they
had
been
living
in
Moab
for
some
time,
\VS{3}Elimelech
died,
and
Naomi
was
left
with
her
two
sons,
\VS{4}who
married
Moabite
women
named
Orpah
and
Ruth.
After
they
had
lived
there
about
ten
years,
\VS{5}Mahlon
and
Chilion
both
died,
and
Naomi
was
left
alone,
without
husband
or
sons.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
she
set
out
with
her
daughters-in-law
to
return
from
the
land
of
Moab,
for
she
had
heard
that
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
had
remembered
his
people
and
given
them
food.
\VS{7}As
they
were
setting
out
together
on
the
journey
to
Judah,
\VS{8}Naomi
said
to
her
daughters-in-law, “Go,
return
both
of
you
to
the
home
of
your
mother.
May
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
be
kind
to
you
as
you
have
been
kind
to
the
dead
and
to
me.
\VS{9}The
{\ND{
Lord}}
grant
that
each
of
you
may
find
peace
and
happiness
in
the
house
of
a
new
husband.”
\par }{\PP Then
she
kissed
them;
but
they
began
to
weep
aloud
\VS{10}and
said
to
her, “No,
we
will
return
with
you
to
your
people.”
\VS{11}But
Naomi
said, “Go
back,
my
daughters.
Why
should
you
go
with
me?
Can
I
still
bear
sons
who
might
become
your
husbands?
\VS{12}Go
back,
my
daughters,
go
your
own
way,
because
I
am
too
old
to
have
a
husband.
Even
if
I
should
say, ‘I
have
hope,’
even
if
I
should
have
a
husband
tonight
and
should
bear
sons,
\VS{13}would
you
wait
for
them
until
they
were
grown
up?
Would
you
remain
single
for
them?
No,
my
daughters!
My
heart grieves
for
you,
for
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
has
sent
me
adversity.”
\VS{14}Then
they
again
wept
aloud,
and
Orpah
kissed
her
mother-in-law goodbye,
but
Ruth
stayed
with
her.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}“Look,”
said
Naomi, “your
sister-in-law
is
going
back
to
her
own
people
and
to
her
own
gods.
Go
along
with
her!”
\VS{16}But
Ruth
answered, “Do
not
urge
me
to
leave
you
or
to
go
back.
I
will
go
where
you
go,
and
I
will
stay
wherever
you
stay.
Your
people
will
be
my
people,
and
your
God
my
God;
\VS{17}I
will
die
where
you
die,
and
be
buried
there.
May
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
bring
a
curse
upon
me,
if
anything
but
death
separate
you
and
me.”
\VS{18}When
Naomi
saw
that
Ruth
was
determined
to
go
with
her,
she
ceased
urging
her
to
return.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}So
they
journeyed
on
until
they
came
to
Bethlehem.
Their
arrival
stirred
the
whole
town,
and
the
women
said, “Can
this
be
Naomi?”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}“Do
not
call
me
Naomi,”
she
said
to
them, “call
me
Mara\FTNT{*}{{\FR 1:20 }
In Hebrew “Naomi” means “pleasant,” and “Mara” means “bitter.”},
for
the
Almighty
has
given
me
a
bitter
lot.
\VS{21}I
had
plenty
when
I
left,
but
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
has
brought
me
back
empty
handed.
Why
should
you
call
me
Naomi,
now
that
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
has
afflicted
me,
and
the
Almighty
has
brought
misfortune
on
me?”
\VS{22}So
Naomi
and
Ruth,
her
Moabite
daughter-in-law,
returned
from
Moab.
They
reached
Bethlehem
at
the
beginning
of
the
barley
harvest.

\par }\Chap{2}{\SH In the Fields of Boaz
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Now
Naomi
was
related
through
her
husband
to
a
very
wealthy
man
of
the
family
of
Elimelech
named
Boaz.
\VS{2}Ruth
the
Moabite
said
to
Naomi, “Let
me
now
go
into
the
fields
and
gather leftover
grain
behind
anyone
who
will
allow
me.”
\par }{\PP “Go,
my
daughter,”
she
replied.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}So
she
went
to
glean
in
the
field
after
the
reapers.
As
it
happened,
she
was
in
that
part
of
the
field
which
belonged
to
Boaz,
who
was
of
the
family
of
Elimelech.
\VS{4}When
Boaz
came
from
Bethlehem
and
said
to
the
reapers, “The
{\ND{
Lord}}
be
with
you,”
they
answered
him, “May
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
bless
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}“Whose
girl
is
this?”
Boaz
asked
his
servant
who
had
charge
of
the
reapers.
\VS{6}The
servant
who
had
charge
of
the
reapers
replied, “It
is
the
Moabite
girl
who
came
back
with
Naomi
from
the
territory
of
Moab.
\VS{7}She
asked
to
be
allowed
to
glean
and
gather
sheaves
after
the
reapers.
So
she
came
and
has
continued
to
work
until
now
and
she
has
not
rested
a
moment
in
the
field.”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Then
Boaz
said
to
Ruth, “Listen,
my
daughter.
Do
not
go
to
glean
in
another
field
nor
leave
this
place,
but
stay
here
with
my
girls.
\VS{9}Watch
where
the
men
are
reaping
and
follow
the gleaners.
I
have
told
the
young
men
not
to
trouble
you.
When
you
are
thirsty,
go
to
the
jars
and
drink
of
that
which
the
young
men
have
drawn.”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Then
she
bowed
low
and
said
to
him, “Why
are
you
so
kind
to
me,
to
take
interest
in
me
when
I
am
just
a
foreigner?”
\VS{11}Boaz
replied, “I
have
heard
what
you
have
done
for
your
mother-in-law
since
the
death
of
your
husband,
and
how
you
left
your
father
and
mother
and
your
native
land
to
come
to
a
people
that
you
did
not
know
before.
\VS{12}May
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
repay
you
for
what
you
have
done,
and
may
you
be
fully
rewarded
by
the
God
of
Israel,
under
whose
wings
you
have
come
to
take
refuge.”
\VS{13}Then
she
said, “I
trust
I
may
please
you,
my
lord,
for
you
have
comforted
me
and
spoken
kindly
to
your
servant,
although
I
am
not
really
equal
to
one
of
your
own
servants.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}At
mealtime
Boaz
said
to
Ruth, “Come
here
and
eat
some
of
the
food
and
dip
your
piece
of
bread
in
the
vinegar.”
So
she
sat
beside
the
reapers,
and
he
passed
her
some
roasted
grain.
She
ate
until
she
was
satisfied
and
had
some
left.
\VS{15}When
she
rose
to
glean,
Boaz
gave
this
order
to
his
young
men: “Let
her
glean
even
among
the
sheaves
and
do
not
disturb
her.
\VS{16}Also
pull
out
some
for
her
from
the
bundles
and
leave
for
her
to
glean,
and
do
not
find
fault
with
her.”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}So
she
gleaned
in
the
field
until
evening,
then
beat
out
what
she
had
gleaned.
It
was
about
a
bushel
of
barley.
\VS{18}Then
she
took
it
up
and
went
into
the
town
and
showed
her
mother-in-law
what
she
had
gleaned.
She
also
brought
out
and
gave
her
that
which
she
had
left
from
her
meal
after
she
had
had
enough.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}“Where
did
you
glean
today,
and
where
did
you
work?”
asked
her
mother-in-law. “A
blessing
on
him
who
took
notice
of
you!”
\par }{\PP So
she
told
her
mother-in-law
where
she
had
worked. “The
name
of
the
man
with
whom
I
worked
today,”
she
said, “is
Boaz.”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Naomi
said
to
her
daughter-in-law, “May
the
blessing
of
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
rest
on
this
man
who
has
not
ceased
to
show
his loving-kindness
to
the
living
and
to
the
dead.
The
man,”
she
added, “is
a
near relation
of
ours.”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}“He
told
me,”
Ruth
said, “that
I
must
keep
near
his
young
men
until
they
have
completed
all
his
harvest.”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Naomi
said
to
Ruth, “It
is
best,
my
daughter,
that
you
should
go
out
with
his
girls
because
you
might
not
be
as
safe
in
another
field.”
\VS{23}So
she
gleaned
with
the
girls
of
Boaz
until
the
end
of
the
barley
and
wheat
harvest;
but
she
lived
with
her
mother-in-law.

\par }\Chap{3}{\SH Night and morning
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}One
day,
Naomi
said
to
Ruth, “My
daughter,
should
I
not
seek
to
secure
a
home
for
you
where
you
will
be
happy
and
prosperous?
\VS{2}Is
not
Boaz,
with
whose
girls
you
have
been,
a
relative
of
ours?
\VS{3}Tonight
he
is
going
to
winnow
barley
on
the threshing-floor.
So
bathe
and
anoint
yourself
and
put
on
your
best
clothes
and
go
down
to
the threshing-floor.
But
do
not
make
yourself
known
to
the
man
until
he
has
finished
eating
and
drinking.
\VS{4}Then
when
he
lies
down,
mark
the
place
where
he
lies.
Go
in,
uncover
his
feet,
lie
down,
and
then
he
will
tell
you
what
to
do.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}“I
will
do
as
you
say.”
Ruth
said
to
her.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
she
went
down
to
the threshing-floor
and
did
just
as
her
mother-in-law
told
her.
\VS{7}When
Boaz
had
finished
eating
and
drinking
and
was
in
a
happy mood,
he
went
to
lie
down
at
the
end
of
the
heap
of
grain.
Then
Ruth
came
quietly
and
uncovered
his
feet
and
lay
down.
\VS{8}At
midnight
the
man
was
startled
and
turned
over,
and
there
was
a
woman
lying
at
his
feet!
\VS{9}“Who
are
you?”
he
said. “I
am
Ruth
your
servant,”
she
answered, “Spread
your
cloak
over
your
servant,
for
you
are
a
near
relative.”
\VS{10}He
said, “May
you
be blest
by
the
{\ND{
Lord}},
my
daughter.
You
have
shown
me
greater
favor
now
than
at
first,
for
you
have
not
followed
young
men,
whether
poor
or
rich.
\VS{11}My
daughter,
have
no
fear.
I
will
do
for
you
all
that
you
ask,
for
the
whole
town
knows
that
you
are
a
virtuous
woman.
\VS{12}Now
it
is
true
that
I
am
a
near
relative,
but
there
is
another
man
nearer
than
I.
\VS{13}Stay
here
tonight,
and
then
in
the
morning,
if
he
will
perform
for
you
the
duty
of
a
kinsman,
well,
let
him
do
it.
But
if
he
will
not
perform
for
you
the
duty
of
a
kinsman,
then
as
surely
as
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
lives,
I
will
do
it
for
you.
Lie
down
until
morning.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}So
she
lay
at
his
feet
until
morning,
but
rose
before
anyone
could
recognize
her,
for
Boaz
said, “No
one
must
know
that
a
woman
came
to
the threshing-floor.”
\VS{15}He
also
said, “Bring
the
cloak
which
you
have
on
and
hold
it.”
So
she
held
it
while
he
poured
into
it
six
measures
of
barley
and
laid
it
on
her
shoulders.
Then
he
went
into
the
city.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}When
Ruth
came
to
her
mother-in-law,
Naomi
asked, “Is
it
you,
my
daughter?”
Then
Ruth
told
Naomi
all
that
the
man
had
done
for
her.
\VS{17}“He
gave
me
these
six
measures
of
barley,”
she
said, “for
he
said
I
should
not
go
to
my
mother-in-law
empty-handed.”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}“Wait
quietly,
my
daughter.”
Naomi
said, “Until
you
know
how
the
affair
will
turn
out,
for
the
man
will
not
rest
unless
he
settles
it
all
today.”

\par }\Chap{4}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then
Boaz
went
up
to
the
gate
and
sat
down.
Just
then
the
near
kinsman
of
whom
Boaz
had
spoken
came
along.
Boaz
said, “Hello, So-and-so (calling
him
by
name),
come
here
and
sit
down.”
So
he
stopped
and
sat
down.
\VS{2}Boaz
also
took
ten
of
the
town
elders
and
said, “Sit
down
here.”
So
they
sat
down.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}Then
he
said
to
the
near
relative, “Naomi,
who
has
come
back
from
the
country
of
Moab,
is
offering
for
sale
the
piece
of
land
which
belonged
to
our
relative
Elimelech,
\VS{4}and
I
thought
that
I
would
lay
the
matter
before
you, suggesting
that
you
buy
it
in
the
presence
of
these
men
who
sit
here
and
of
the
elders
of
my
people.
If
you
will
buy
it
and
so
keep
it
in
the
possession
of
the
family,
do
so;
but
if
not;
then
tell
me,
so
that
I
may
know;
for
no
one
but
you
has
the
right
to
buy
it,
and
I
am
next
to
you.”
\par }{\PP “I
will
buy
it,”
he
said.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}Then
Boaz
said, “On
the
day
you
buy
the
field
from
Naomi,
you
must
also
marry
Ruth
the
Moabite,
the
widow
of
the
dead,
in
order
to
preserve
the
name
of
the
dead
in
connection
with
his
inheritance.”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}“I
cannot
buy
it
for
myself
without
spoiling
my
own
inheritance,”
the
near
relative
said. “You
take
my
right
of
buying
it
as
a
relative,
because
I
cannot
do
so.”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Now
this
used
to
be
the
custom
in
Israel:
to
make
valid
anything
relating
to
a
matter
of
redemption
or
exchange,
a
man
drew
off
his
sandal
and
gave
it
to
the
other
man;
and
this
was
the
way contracts
were attested
in
Israel.
\VS{8}So
when
the
near
relative
said
to
Boaz, “Buy
it
for
yourself,”
Boaz
drew
off
the
man’s
sandal.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
Boaz
said
to
the
elders
and
to
all
the
people, “You
are
witnesses
at
this
time
that
I
have
bought
all
that
was
Elimelech’s
and
all
that
was
Chilion’s
and
Mahlon’s
from
Naomi.
\VS{10}Moreover
I
have
secured
Ruth
the
Moabite,
the
wife
of
Mahlon,
to
be
my
wife,
in
order
to perpetuate
the
name
of
the
dead
in
connection
with
his
inheritance,
so
that
his
name
will
not
disappear
from
among
his
relatives
and
from
the
household
where
he
lived.
You
are
witnesses
this
day.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Then
all
the
people
who
were
at
the
gate
and
the
elders
said, “We
are
witnesses.
May
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
make
the
woman
who
is
coming
into
your
house
like
Rachel
and
Leah,
who
together
built
the
house
of
Israel.
May
you
do
well
in Ephrata,
and
become
famous
in
Bethlehem.
\VS{12}From
the
children
whom
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
will
give
you
by
this
young
woman
may
your
household
become
like
the
household
of
Perez,
whom
Tamar
bore
to
Judah.”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}So
Boaz
married
Ruth,
and
she
became
his
wife;
and
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
gave
to
her
a
son.
\VS{14}Then
the
women
said
to
Naomi, “Blessed
be
the
{\ND{
Lord}}
who
has
not
left
you
at
this
time
without
a
near
relative,
and
may
his
name
be
famous
in
Israel.
\VS{15}This
child
will
restore
your
vigor
and
nourish
you
in
your
old
age;
for
your
daughter-in-law
who
loves
you,
who
is
worth
more
to
you
than
seven
sons,
has
borne
a
son
to
Boaz!”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}So
Naomi
took
the
child
in
her
arms
and
cared
for
him
as
if
he
was
her
own.
\VS{17}The
women
of
the neighborhood
gave
him
a
name,
saying, “A
son
is
born
to
Naomi!”
They
named
him
Obed.
He
became
the
father
of
Jesse,
who
was
the
father
of
David.
\par }{\SH Genealogy
\par }{\PP \VS{18}This
is
the
genealogy
of
Perez:
\par }{\Q Perez
was
the
father
of
Hezron,
\par }{\Q \VS{19}Hezron
of
Ram,
\par }{\Q Ram
of
Amminadab,
\par }{\Q \VS{20}Amminidab
of Nashon,
\par }{\Q Nashon
of
Salmon,
\par }{\Q \VS{21}Salmon
of
Boaz,
\par }{\Q Boaz
of
Obed,
\par }{\Q \VS{22}Obed
of
Jesse,
\par }{\Q Jesse
of
David.
\par }