CHAPTER 3

¹And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek for you a settled place for you, that it be well for you? ²And now, is not Boaz our kinsman with whose young women you were winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight? ³And you must bathe and anoint yourself and put on your garments and go down to the threshing floor. Do not let yourself be known to the man till he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴And it will be, when he lies down, that you will know the place where he lies down, and you shall come and uncover his feet and lie down, and as for him, he shall tell you what you should do.” ⁵And she said to her, “Whatever you say to me I will do.” ⁶And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law charged her. ⁷And Boaz ate and drank, and he was of good cheer, and he came and lay down at the edge of the stack of barley. And she came stealthily and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸And it happened at midnight that the man trembled and twisted round, and, look, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹And he said, “Who are you?” And she said, “I am Ruth your servant. May you spread your wing over your servant, for you are a redeeming kinsman.” ¹⁰And he said, “Blessed are you to the LORD, my daughter. You have done better in your latest kindness than in the first, not going after the young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹And now, my daughter, do not be afraid. Whatever you say I will do for you, for all my people’s town knows that you are a worthy woman. ¹²And now, though in fact I am redeeming kin, there is also a redeeming kin closer than I. ¹³Spend the night here, and it shall be in the morning, should he redeem you, he will do well to redeem, and if he does not want to redeem you, I myself will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie here till morning.” ¹⁴And she lay at his feet till morning and arose before a man could recognize his fellow man. And he said, “Let it not be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵And he said, “Give me the shawl that you have and hold it out.” And she held it out, and he measured out six shares of barley and he set it on her, and she came into the town. ¹⁶And she came to her mother-in-law, and her mother-in-law said, “How is it with you, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷And she said, “These six shares of barley he gave me, for he said, ‘You should not come empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” ¹⁸And she said, “Stay, my daughter, till you know how the matter will fall out, for the man will not rest if he does not settle the matter today.”