Ruth 4
4
Boaz Marries Ruth
1Then 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. 2And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. 3And he said unto the kinsman, Na-o´mi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elim´elech's: 4and 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 besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. 5Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Na-o´mi, 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. 6And 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.
7 #
Deut 25.9. 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 neighbor: and this was a testimony in Israel. 8Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. 9And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elim´elech's, and all that was Chil´i-on's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Na-o´mi. 10Moreover 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. 11#Gen 29.31—35.18. 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 Le´ah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Eph´ratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: 12#Gen 38.27-30. 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.
13So 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. 14And the women said unto Na-o´mi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15And 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. 16And Na-o´mi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Na-o´mi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Ammin´adab, 20and Ammin´adab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, 21and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Ruth 4
4
Boaz and Naomi’s Close Relative
1Boaz went to the place where people gather near the city gates. He sat there until the close relative he had told Ruth about passed by. Boaz called to him, “Come and sit here, friend.”
2Boaz also gathered ten of the elders of the city. He told them, “Sit here!” So they sat down.
3Then Boaz spoke to Naomi’s close relative. He said, “Naomi came back from the hill country of Moab. She wants to sell the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4I decided to tell you about this in front of the people living here and in front of the elders of our people. If you want to pay the widow for the land and keep it in the family, then pay her for it. If you don’t want to buy the land, tell me, because I am the next one in the family who has the right to buy it. If you don’t buy the land from her, I will.”
Naomi’s closest relative said, “I will buy the land from her.”
5Then Boaz said, “If you buy the land from her, you must also marry the dead man’s wife, Ruth, the Moabite woman. Then the first child will get the land, and it will stay in the dead man’s family.”
6The close relative answered, “Then I cannot buy the land. If I do, I might lose my own land. So I cannot do it. You buy the land.” 7Then he gave Boaz something to show that he was serious. During that time in Israel, when people bought property, one person took off a sandal and gave it to the other person. This was like signing an agreement. 8So when the close relative said to Boaz, “You buy the land,” he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz.#4:8 and gave it to Boaz This is from the ancient Greek version.
9Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10I also take Ruth to be my wife. Then the dead man’s property will continue to belong to his family. And he will always be remembered by his family and the people in his hometown. You are all witnesses of what I am doing today.”
11So all the elders and the people who were near the city gates said, “We are witnesses to all of this. And may the Lord bless this woman who is coming into your home to be like Rachel and Leah. They are the ones who had many children to make the people of Israel strong. And may you become powerful in the tribe of Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem! 12May the Lord bless you with many children through Ruth. May your family become great like the family of Perez,#4:12 Perez One of Boaz’s ancestors. the son Tamar bore for Judah.”
13So Boaz married Ruth. The Lord allowed Ruth to become pregnant, and she had a son. 14The women there said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord who gave you this child.#4:14 child Literally, “protector” or “redeemer.” This might refer to Boaz, or the women might have used this name for the baby because he would be the one to care for Naomi and her family and to carry on the name of Elimelech. May he become famous in Israel. 15He will make you alive again and care for you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law made it happen because she bore this child for you. She loves you, and she is better for you than seven sons.”
16Naomi took the boy, held him in her arms, and cared for him. 17The neighbors gave the boy his name. These women said, “Naomi has a son now!”#4:17 Naomi … now Literally, “A son was born for Naomi.” They named him Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.
The Family of Ruth and Boaz
18This is the family history of Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron.
19Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
20Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
21Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
22Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David.
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