(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.

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 

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 

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

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 

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

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 

Again they wept loudly. ¹  Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, ²  but Ruth ³  clung tightly to her. ⁴ 

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 

The neighbor women named him, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. ¹  Now he became the father of Jesse – David’s father!

So the two of them ¹  journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem. ² When they entered ³  Bethlehem, ⁴  the whole village was excited about their arrival. ⁵  The women of the village said, ⁶  “Can this be Naomi?” ⁷ 

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.”