Ruth 4:4-15
4:4 So I am legally informing you:
Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people!
If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so.
But if not, then tell me
so I will know.
For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.”
He replied, “I will redeem it.”
4:5 Then Boaz said, “When
you acquire the field
from Naomi,
you must also
acquire Ruth the Moabite,
the wife of our deceased relative,
in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.”
4:6 The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance
in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.”
4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel:
A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party.
This was a legally binding act
in Israel.)
4:8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal.
4:9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.
4:10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property
so the name of the deceased might not disappear
from among his relatives and from his village.
You are witnesses today.”
4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the
Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May
you prosper
in Ephrathah and become famous
in Bethlehem.
4:12 May your family
become like the family of Perez
– whom Tamar bore to Judah – through the descendants
the
Lord gives you by this young woman.”
A Grandson is Born to Naomi
4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. The Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son.
4:14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian today! May he become famous in Israel!
4:15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She is better to you than seven sons!”