[Ruth 1]
1:1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled,
that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of
Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and
his wife, and his two sons.
1:2 And the name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name of
his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and
Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the
country of Moab, and continued there.
1:3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and
her two sons.
1:4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name
of the one [was] Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and
they dwelled there about ten years.
1:5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the
woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
1:6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might
return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the
country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in
giving them bread.
1:7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was,
and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way
to return unto the land of Judah.
1:8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return
each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as
ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
1:9 The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each [of you]
in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they
lifted up their voice, and wept.
1:10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee
unto thy people.
1:11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go
with me? [are] there yet [any more] sons in my womb, that they
may be your husbands?
1:12 Turn again, my daughters, go [your way]; for I am too
old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, [if] I
should have an husband also to night, and should also bear
sons;
1:13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye
stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it
grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is
gone out against me.
1:14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and
Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
1:15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back
unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy
sister in law.
1:16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, [or] to
return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I
will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people
[shall be] my people, and thy God my God:
1:17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be
buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, [if ought] but
death part thee and me.
1:18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with
her, then she left speaking unto her.
1:19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it
came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the
city was moved about them, and they said, [Is] this Naomi?
1:20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara:
for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
1:21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again
empty: why [then] call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath
testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter
in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab:
and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
[Ruth 2]
2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of
wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name [was] Boaz.
2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to
the field, and glean ears of corn after [him] in whose sight I
shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
2:3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after
the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field
[belonging] unto Boaz, who [was] of the kindred of Elimelech.
2:4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the
reapers, The LORD [be] with you. And they answered him, The
LORD bless thee.
2:5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the
reapers, Whose damsel [is] this?
2:6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered
and said, It [is] the Moabitish damsel that came back with
Naomi out of the country of Moab:
2:7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after
the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued
even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in
the house.
2:8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter?
Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but
abide here fast by my maidens:
2:9 [Let] thine eyes [be] on the field that they do reap, and
go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they
shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the
vessels, and drink of [that] which the young men have drawn.
2:10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the
ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine
eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I [am] a
stranger?
2:11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been
showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since
the death of thine husband: and [how] thou hast left thy father
and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto
a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given
thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come
to trust.
2:13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord;
for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken
friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of
thine handmaidens.
2:14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither,
and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And
she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched [corn],
and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
2:15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his
young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and
reproach her not:
2:16 And let fall also [some] of the handfuls of purpose for
her, and leave [them], that she may glean [them], and rebuke
her not.
2:17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out
that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
2:18 And she took [it] up, and went into the city: and her
mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth,
and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
2:19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou
gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that
did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother in law
with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I
wrought to day [is] Boaz.
2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed [be] he
of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living
and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man [is] near of
kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
2:21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou
shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my
harvest.
2:22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, [It is]
good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they
meet thee not in any other field.
2:23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto
the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with
her mother in law.
[Ruth 3]
3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter,
shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
3:2 And now [is] not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens
thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the
threshingfloor.
3:3 Wash thy self therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy
raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: [but] make
not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating
and drinking.
3:4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark
the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover
his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou
shalt do.
3:5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I
will do.
3:6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to
all that her mother in law bade her.
3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was
merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and
she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
3:8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid,
and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
3:9 And he said, Who [art] thou? And she answered, I [am]
Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine
handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman.
3:10 And he said, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD, my daughter:
[for] thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at
the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men,
whether poor or rich.
3:11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all
that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know
that thou [art] a virtuous woman.
3:12 And now it is true that I [am thy] near kinsman: howbeit
there is a kinsman nearer than I.
3:13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, [that]
if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let
him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a
kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee,
[as] the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.
3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose
up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be
known that a woman came into the floor.
3:15 Also he said, Bring the veil that [thou hast] upon thee,
and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six [measures]
of barley, and laid [it] on her: and she went into the city.
3:16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who
[art] thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had
done to her.
3:17 And she said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me;
for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
3:18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know
how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest,
until he have finished the thing this day.
[Ruth 4]
4:1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there:
and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom
he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he
turned aside, and sat down.
4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said,
Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
4:3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again
out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which
[was] our brother Elimelech's:
4:4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy [it] before
the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou
wilt redeem [it], redeem [it]: but if thou wilt not redeem [it,
then] tell me, that I may know: for [there is] none to redeem
[it] beside thee; and I [am] after thee. And he said, I will
redeem [it].
4:5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the
hand of Naomi, thou must buy [it] also of Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his
inheritance.
4:6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem [it] for myself,
lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to
thyself; for I cannot redeem [it].
4:7 Now this [was the manner] in former time in Israel
concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm
all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave [it] to his
neighbour: and this [was] a testimony in Israel.
4:8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy [it] for thee.
So he drew off his shoe.
4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and [unto] all the people,
Ye [are] witnesses this day, that I have bought all that [was]
Elimelech's, and all that [was] Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the
hand of Naomi.
4:10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I
purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon
his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from
among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye [are]
witnesses this day.
4:11 And all the people that [were] in the gate, and the
elders, said, [We are] witnesses. The LORD make the woman that
is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two
did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in
Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom
Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give
thee of this young woman.
4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he
went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a
son.
4:14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed [be] the LORD,
which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his
name may be famous in Israel.
4:15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of [thy] life, and
a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which
loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath
borne him.
4:16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and
became nurse unto it.
4:17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying,
There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he
[is] the father of Jesse, the father of David.
4:18 Now these [are] the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat
Hezron,
4:19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
4:20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
4:21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
4:22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.