Ruth’s Redemption Assured

1And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek for you a resting place, that it may be well with you? 2And is not Boaz our relative, whose young women you were with? Behold, he is winnowing on the threshing floor of barley tonight. 3And you shall wash, and you shall anoint yourself, and you shall put your garments on you, and you shall go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking. 4And it shall come to pass, when he lies down, that you shall know the place where he lies down, and you shall go in and you shall uncover his feet and lie down, and he—he will tell you what you shall do.”

5And she said to her, “All that you say to me, I will do.” 6And she went down to the threshing floor, and she did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her.

7And Boaz ate and drank, and his heart was good, and he went to lie down at the end of the heap. And she came in secrecy and uncovered his feet and lay down.

8And it came to pass in the middle of the night that the man trembled and turned himself, and behold, a woman was lying at his feet.

9And he said, “Who are you?”

And she said, “I am Ruth your maidservant. And you shall spread your wing† over your maidservant, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.†”

10And he said, “Blessed are you to YHWH, my daughter. For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after the young men, whether poor or rich. 11And now, my daughter, do not fear. All that you say, I will do for you, for all the gate of my people knows that you are a woman of virtue. 12And now it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer, But also there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I.† 13Lodge the night, and it shall be in the morning that if he does redeem you, good; let him redeem. And if he does not want to redeem you, then I will redeem you myself, as YHWH lives. Lie down until the morning.”

14And she lay at his feet until the morning, and she arose before a man could recognize his companion.

And he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15And he said, “Give the cloak that is on you, and hold it.” And she held it, and he measured six measures of barley† and laid it on her, and he went† into the city.

16And she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, “Who are you, my daughter?”

And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go in empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”

18And she said, “Sit, my daughter, until that you know how the matter will fall. For the man will not rest until that he finishes the matter today.”

Footnotes:

9 The word for wing can also mean corner of a garment; see Ruth 2:12.
9 The Hebrew word for kinsman-redeemer or guardian-redeemer is a legal term for the kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative; similarly in verses 12 and 13; see Leviticus 25:25–55.
12 That is, more closely related
15 Possibly six seahs (two ephahs), or approximately 39.6 dry quarts or 43.8 liters (about 58 pounds or 26.3 kilograms of barley)
15 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate, and Syriac she went