Now Naomi ¹  had a relative ²  on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. ³ 

Sometime later ¹  Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, so she and her two sons were left alone.

Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ¹  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ²  as well as her husband!

In the middle of the night he was startled ¹  and turned over. ²  Now ³  he saw a woman ⁴  lying beside him! ⁵ 

Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. ¹  Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons, ² 

May the Lord enable each of you to find ¹  security ²  in the home of a new husband!” ³  Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly. ⁴ 

But Naomi replied, “Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! ¹  I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands! ² 

So bathe yourself, ¹  rub on some perfumed oil, ²  and get dressed up. ³  Then go down ⁴  to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal. ⁵ 

So she slept beside him ¹  until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. ²  Boaz thought, ³  “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” ⁴ 

and she returned to her mother-in-law.When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi ¹  asked, ²  “How did things turn out for you, ³  my daughter?” Ruth ⁴  told her about all the man had done for her. ⁵ 

Then Naomi ¹  said, “Stay put, ²  my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”

(Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: ¹  A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. ²  This was a legally binding act ³  in Israel.)

During the time of the judges ¹  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ²  So a man from Bethlehem ³  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ⁴  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ⁵ 

(Now the man’s name was Elimelech, ¹  his wife was Naomi, ²  and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. ³  They were of the clan of Ephrath ⁴  from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there. ⁵ 

surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry! ¹  Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! ²  No, ³  my daughters, you must not return with me. ⁴  For my intense suffering ⁵  is too much for you to bear. ⁶  For the Lord is afflicting me!” ⁷ 

Boaz replied to her, ¹  “I have been given a full report of ²  all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left ³  your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. ⁴ 

Her mother-in-law asked her, ¹  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ²  So Ruth ³  told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he ¹  has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” ²  Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” ³