I left here full, ¹  but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed. ²  Why do you call me ‘Naomi,’ seeing that ³  the Lord has opposed me, ⁴  and the Sovereign One ⁵  has caused me to suffer?” ⁶ 

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

So Naomi ¹  said, “Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her god. ²  Follow your sister-in-law back home!”

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 

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 

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.”

She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw ¹  how much grain ²  she had gathered. Then Ruth ³  gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. ⁴ 

When he gets ready to go to sleep, ¹  take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, ²  and lie down ³  beside him. ⁴  He will tell ⁵  you what you should do.”

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 

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