< Ruth 4 >

1 Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said: 'Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here.' And he turned aside, and sat down.
[Meanwhile], Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. [That was the place where people met together to decide important matters]. When the man that Boaz had mentioned came there, the close relative of Ruth and Naomi’s dead husbands [who had a responsibility to take care of Naomi and Ruth], Boaz said to him, “My friend, come over here and sit down.” So the man went and sat down.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said: 'Sit ye down here.' And they sat down.
Boaz then gathered ten of the elders of the town and asked them to sit down [there also]. After they sat down,
3 And he said unto the near kinsman: 'Naomi, that is come back out of the field of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's;
he said to the man who had the responsibility to take care of Naomi, “Naomi has returned from Moab [region]. She wants to sell the field that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
4 and I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying: Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it; but if it will not be redeemed, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee.' And he said: 'I will redeem it.'
I thought that I should tell you about that, and suggest that you buy it, while these elders who are sitting here are listening. If you are willing to buy the property, do that. But if you do not want to buy it, tell me, so that I will know. I am suggesting this to you because you are the one who has the first right to buy it, and I am the one who has the second/next right to buy it.” The man replied, “I will buy it!”
5 Then said Boaz: 'What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi — hast thou also bought of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance?'
Then Boaz told him, “When you buy the land from Naomi, you will also be taking Ruth, [the woman] who is from Moab, [to be your wife], in order that she may [give birth to a son who will] inherit the property of her dead husband [MTY].”
6 And the near kinsman said: 'I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it.' —
Then the close relative [of Ruth’s dead husband] said, “[If that is so], I do not [want to] buy the field, because then my own [children] would not inherit the property; [Ruth’s children would inherit it]. You buy the property!”
7 Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour; and this was the attestation in Israel. —
At that time, it was the custom in Israel, when a person bought property that belonged to another person, that the man who was selling the property would take off one of his sandals and give it to the one who was buying the property. That was the way they finalized sales in Israel.
8 So the near kinsman said unto Boaz: 'Buy it for thyself.' And he drew off his shoe.
So that close relative said to Boaz, “You buy the field yourself!” And he took off [one of] his sandals [and gave it to Boaz].
9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people: 'Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the [other] people [who were there], “Today you have all seen that I have bought from Naomi all the property that belonged to [her dead husband] Elimelech and [his dead sons] Mahlon and Chilion.
10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I acquired to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; ye are witnesses this day.'
I am also taking Ruth, [the woman] from Moab, Mahlon’s widow, to be my wife, in order that she may give birth to a son who will inherit the property of the dead man. In that way, Elimelech’s name will continue [LIT] among the members of his family and among all the people of this town. Today you all are witnesses [of what I have done].”
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said: 'We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and do thou worthily in Ephrath, and be famous in Beth-lehem;
All the elders and the [others] who were sitting at the [town] gate [agreed, and one of them] said, “[Yes, ] we are witnesses. We hope/desire that Yahweh will enable this woman, who will be coming into your home, to give birth to many children, as Rachel and Leah did. They are the women from whom all [us] people [MTY] of Israel are descended. We hope that you will become rich in the clan of Ephratah, and become famous [MTY] [here] in Bethlehem.
12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.'
We hope/desire that Yahweh will enable you and this young woman to have many descendants. And we hope/desire that your family will be as important as the family of your ancestor Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
So Boaz took Ruth [home], and she became his wife. He (slept with/had sexual relations with) her [EUP] and Yahweh enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.
14 And the women said unto Naomi: 'Blessed be the LORD, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman, and let his name be famous in Israel.
The women [of Bethlehem] said to Naomi, “Praise Yahweh! Now he has given [LIT] you a grandson who will be the one who will have the responsibility to take care of you. We hope that he will become famous [MTY] throughout Israel.
15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age; for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.'
He will make you feel young again, and he will take care of you when you become old. Your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given birth to a son, who will (be better to/do more for) you than [if you had] seven sons [of your own].”
16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
Then Naomi took the baby and put him on her lap, and took care of him.
17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying: 'There is a son born to Naomi'; and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The women who were living near her said, “[It is as though] Naomi [now] has a son!” And they named him Obed. [Later], Obed became the father of Jesse, and [later] Jesse became the father of [King] David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begot Hezron;
Here is [a list of] the ancestors of [King David]: Perez’s son was Hezron. Hezron’s son was Ram. Ram’s son was Amminadab. Amminadab’s son was Nahshon. Nahshon’s son was Salmon. Salmon’s son was Boaz. Boaz’s son was Obed. Obed’s son was Jesse. Jesse’s son was [King] David.
19 and Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab;
20 and Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon;
21 and Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed;
22 and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

< Ruth 4 >