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 

So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. ¹  (Now they ²  arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.) ³ 

Now at that very moment, ¹  Boaz arrived from Bethlehem ²  and greeted ³  the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, ⁴  “May the Lord bless you!”

So Ruth ¹  worked beside ²  Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. ³  After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. ⁴ 

Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmah,

Salmon ¹  was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed,

Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. ¹ 

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.”

Then he said, “Hold out the shawl ¹  you are wearing ²  and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds ³  of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he ⁴  went into town,

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 

(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 

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

Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; ¹  she became his caregiver. ² 

These are the descendants ¹  of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,

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!

Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. ¹  Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. ² 

Now yes, it is true that ¹  I am a guardian, ²  but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am.

Boaz chose ten of the village leaders ¹  and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down.

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 ¹  you prosper ²  in Ephrathah and become famous ³  in Bethlehem. ⁴