Ruth replied to Naomi, ¹  “I will do everything you have told ²  me ³  to do.” ⁴ 

May the Lord reward your efforts! ¹  May your acts of kindness be repaid fully ²  by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” ³ 

She said, “You really are being kind to me, ¹  sir, ²  for you have reassured ³  and encouraged ⁴  me, your servant, ⁵  even though I am ⁶  not one of your servants!” ⁷ 

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.

Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even ¹  told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants ²  until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” ³ 

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 

He said, “May you be rewarded ¹  by the Lord, my dear! ²  This act of devotion ³  is greater than what you did before. ⁴  For you have not sought to marry ⁵  one of the young men, whether rich or poor. ⁶ 

Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Listen to me! Each of you should return to your mother’s home! ¹  May the Lord show ²  you ³  the same kind of devotion that you have shown to your deceased husbands ⁴  and to me! ⁵ 

I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property ¹  so the name of the deceased might not disappear ²  from among his relatives and from his village. ³  You are witnesses today.”

Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have ¹  some food! Dip your bread ²  in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed ³  her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. ⁴ 

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 

Take note of ¹  the field where the men ²  are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. ³  I will tell the men ⁴  to leave you alone. ⁵  When you are thirsty, you may go to ⁶  the water jars ⁷  and drink some of the water ⁸  the servants draw.” ⁹ 

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 

Ruth ¹  knelt before him with her forehead to the ground ²  and said to him, “Why are you so kind ³  and so attentive to me, ⁴  even though ⁵  I am a foreigner?” ⁶ 

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 

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

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 Boaz said, “When ¹  you acquire the field ²  from Naomi, ³  you must also ⁴  acquire Ruth the Moabite, ⁵  the wife of our deceased relative, ⁶  in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.” ⁷ 

The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance ¹  in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.” ² 

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