1 Afterward Naomi her mother in lawe said vnto her, My daughter, shall not I seeke rest for thee, that thou mayest prosper? 2 Now also is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maides thou wast? beholde, he winoweth barly to night in the floore. 3 Wash thy sellfe therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment vpon thee, and get thee downe to the floore: let not the man know of thee, vntill he haue left eating and drinking. 4 And when he shall sleepe, marke the place where he layeth him downe, and go, and vncouer the place of his feete, and lay thee downe, and he shall tell thee what thou shalt doe. 5 And she answered her, All that thou biddest me, I will doe. 6 So she went downe vnto the floore, and did according to all that her mother in lawe bade her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten, and drunken, and cheared his heart, he went to lie downe at the end of the heape of corne, and she came softly, and vncouered the place of his feet, and lay downe. 8 And at midnight the man was afraide and caught holde: and loe, a woman lay at his feete. 9 Then he sayd, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmayd: spread therefore the wing of thy garment ouer thine handmayd: for thou art the kinsman. 10 Then sayd he, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: thou hast shewed more goodnes in the latter end, then at the beginning, in as much as thou followedst not yong men, were they poore or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, feare not: I will doe to thee all that thou requirest: for all the citie of my people doeth knowe, that thou art a vertuous woman. 12 And now, it is true that I am thy kinsman, howbeit there is a kinsman neerer then I. 13 Tarie to night, and when morning is come, if he will doe the duetie of a kinsman vnto thee, well, let him doe the kinsmans duetie: but if he will not doe the kinsmans part, then wil I doe the duetie of a kinsman, as the Lord liueth: sleepe vntill the morning. 14 And she lay at his feete vntill the morning: and she arose before one could know another: for he sayd, Let no man knowe, that a woman came into the floore. 15 Also he sayd, Bring the sheete that thou hast vpon thee, and holde it. And when she helde it, he measured sixe measures of barly, and layde them on her, and she went into the citie. 16 And when she came to her mother in law, she sayd, Who art thou, my daughter? And she tolde her all that the man had done to her, 17 And said, These sixe measures of barly gaue he me: for he sayd to me, Thou shalt not come emptie vnto thy mother in lawe. 18 Then sayd she, My daughter, sit still, vntill thou knowe how the thing will fall: for the man wil not be in rest, vntill he hath finished the matter this same day.
Ruth Finds a Husband
1 Some time later Naomi said to Ruth, “I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own. 2 Remember that this man Boaz, whose women you have been working with, is our relative. Now listen. This evening he will be threshing the barley. 3 So wash yourself, put on some perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go where he is threshing, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down, and after he falls asleep, go and lift the covers and lie down at his feet. He will tell you what to do.”
5 Ruth answered, “I will do everything you say.”
6 So Ruth went to the threshing place and did just what her mother-in-law had told her. 7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking, he was in a good mood. He went to the pile of barley and lay down to sleep. Ruth slipped over quietly, lifted the covers and lay down at his feet. 8 During the night he woke up suddenly, turned over, and was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet. 9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“It's Ruth, sir,” she answered. “Because you are a close relative, you are responsible for taking care of me. So please marry me.”
10 “The Lord bless you,” he said. “You are showing even greater family loyalty in what you are doing now than in what you did for your mother-in-law. You might have gone looking for a young man, either rich or poor, but you haven't. 11 Now don't worry, Ruth. I will do everything you ask; as everyone in town knows, you are a fine woman. 12 It is true that I am a close relative and am responsible for you, but there is a man who is a closer relative than I am. 13 Stay here the rest of the night, and in the morning we will find out whether or not he will take responsibility for you. If so, well and good; if not, then I swear by the living Lord that I will take the responsibility. Now lie down and stay here till morning.”
14 So she lay there at his feet, but she got up before it was light enough for her to be seen, because Boaz did not want anyone to know that she had been there. 15 Boaz said to her, “Take off your cloak and spread it out here.” She did, and he poured out almost fifty pounds of barley and helped her lift it to her shoulder. Then she returned to town with it. 16 When she arrived home, her mother-in-law asked her, “How did you get along, daughter?”
Ruth told her everything that Boaz had done for her. 17 She added, “He told me I must not come back to you empty-handed, so he gave me all this barley.”
18 Naomi said to her, “Now be patient, Ruth, until you see how this all turns out. Boaz will not rest today until he settles the matter.”