Ruth 3

1 And Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, am I not to get you a resting-place where you may be in comfort?

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?

2 And now, is there not Boaz, our relation, with whose young women you were? See, tonight he is separating the grain from the waste in his grain-floor.

Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor.

3 So take a bath, and, after rubbing your body with sweet oil, put on your best robe, and go down to the grain-floor; but do not let him see you till he has come to the end of his meal.

Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.

4 But see to it, when he goes to rest, that you take note of the place where he is sleeping, and go in there, and, uncovering his feet, take your place by him; and he will say what you are to do.

When he lies down, note the place where he lies. Then go in and uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will explain to you what you should do.”

5 And she said, I will do all you say.

“I will do everything you say,” Ruth answered.

6 So she went down to the grain-floor and did all her mother-in-law had said to her.

So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do.

7 Now when Boaz had taken meat and drink, and his heart was glad, he went to take his rest at the end of the mass of grain; then she came softly and, uncovering his feet, went to rest.

After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

8 Now in the middle of the night, the man awaking from his sleep in fear, and lifting himself up, saw a woman stretched at his feet.

At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman!

9 And he said, Who are you? And she answering said, I am your servant Ruth: take your servant as wife, for you are a near relation.

“Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”

10 And he said, May the Lord give you his blessing, my daughter: even better than what you did at the first is this last kind act you have done, in not going after young men, with or without wealth.

Then Boaz said, “May the LORD bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.

11 And now, my daughter, have no fear; I will do for you whatever you say: for it is clear to all my townspeople that you are a woman of virtue.

And now do not be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you request, since all my fellow townspeople know that you are a woman of noble character.

12 Now it is true that I am a near relation: but there is a relation nearer than I.

Yes, it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer, but there is a redeemer nearer than I.

13 Take your rest here tonight; and in the morning, if he will do for you what it is right for a relation to do, very well, let him do so: but if he will not, then by the living Lord I myself will do so.

Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, good. Let him redeem you. But if he does not want to redeem you, as surely as the LORD lives, I will. Now lie here until morning.”

14 And she took her rest at his feet till the morning: and she got up before it was light enough for one to see another. And he said, Let it not come to anyone's knowledge that the woman came to the grain-floor.

So she lay down at his feet until morning, but she got up before anyone else could recognize her. Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”

15 And he said, Take your robe, stretching it out in your hands: and she did so, and he took six measures of grain and put them into it, and gave it her to take: and she went back to the town.

And he told her, “Bring the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl. Then he went into the city.

16 And when she came back her mother-in-law said to her, How did it go with you, my daughter? And she gave her an account of all the man had done to her.

When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked her, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then Ruth told her all that Boaz had done for her.

17 And she said, He gave me these six measures of grain, saying, Do not go back to your mother-in-law with nothing in your hands.

And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

18 Then she said, Do nothing now, my daughter, till you see what will come of this; for the man will take no rest till he has put this thing through.

“Wait, my daughter,” said Naomi, “until you find out how things go, for he will not rest unless he has resolved the matter today.”