{"name":"Readable English Bible","abbreviation":"READ","id":"readable","language":"en","version":"Draft 0.2","license":"CC BY 4.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Scripture from the Readable English Bible (READ), readable.bible, licensed under CC BY 4.0.","website":"https://readable.bible","book":{"name":"Ruth","slug":"ruth","usfm":"RUT","testament":"OT","chapters":[{"chapter":1,"verses":[{"verse":1,"text":"This happened back when the judges ruled. There was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live for a while in the land of Moab. He took his wife and his two sons with him."},{"verse":2,"text":"The man's name was Elimelech. His wife's name was Naomi. His two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the land of Moab and settled there."},{"verse":3,"text":"Then Naomi's husband Elimelech died. She was left with her two sons."},{"verse":4,"text":"Her sons married women from Moab. One was named Orpah, and the other was named Ruth. They lived in Moab about ten years."},{"verse":5,"text":"Then Mahlon and Chilion both died too. Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband."},{"verse":6,"text":"While she was in Moab, Naomi heard that the LORD had come to help his people. He had given them food again. So she and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab."},{"verse":7,"text":"Her two daughters-in-law went with her. She left the place where she had been living. They started down the road that led back to the land of Judah."},{"verse":8,"text":"Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, \"Go back. Each of you go home to your mother. You have been kind to your husbands who died, and to me. May the LORD show you faithful love in the same way."},{"verse":9,"text":"May the LORD let each of you find rest in the home of a new husband.\" Then she kissed them goodbye. They cried out loud"},{"verse":10,"text":"and said to her, \"No! We will go back with you to your people.\""},{"verse":11,"text":"But Naomi said, \"Go home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Can I still have more sons who could grow up to be your husbands?"},{"verse":12,"text":"Go home, my daughters. Go on. I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to get a husband tonight and to have sons,"},{"verse":13,"text":"would you wait for them to grow up? Would you stay unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is much more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has turned against me.\""},{"verse":14,"text":"Again they cried out loud. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on tight to her."},{"verse":15,"text":"\"Look,\" Naomi said. \"Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods. Go back home with her.\""},{"verse":16,"text":"But Ruth said, \"Don't beg me to leave you. Don't ask me to stop following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."},{"verse":17,"text":"Where you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and punish me hard, if anything but death pulls you and me apart.\""},{"verse":18,"text":"Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her. So she stopped trying to talk her out of it."},{"verse":19,"text":"So the two women traveled on until they came to Bethlehem. When they got there, the whole town was stirred up about them. The women of the town cried out, \"Can this really be Naomi?\""},{"verse":20,"text":"\"Don't call me Naomi,\" she told them. \"Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.","note":"Naomi means \"pleasant.\" Mara means \"bitter.\""},{"verse":21,"text":"I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. So why call me Naomi? The LORD has spoken against me. The Almighty has brought trouble on me.\""},{"verse":22,"text":"So Naomi came back from the land of Moab. Her daughter-in-law Ruth, the woman from Moab, came with her. They arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was starting."}]},{"chapter":2,"verses":[{"verse":1,"text":"Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side. He was an important man with a good name. He was from the clan of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz."},{"verse":2,"text":"Ruth, the woman from Moab, said to Naomi, \"Please let me go out to the fields. I will pick up the leftover grain behind someone who is kind to me.\" \"Go ahead, my daughter,\" Naomi said."},{"verse":3,"text":"So Ruth went out into the field. She picked up the leftover grain behind the harvest workers. And it just so happened that she came to a part of the field that belonged to Boaz. He was from the clan of Elimelech."},{"verse":4,"text":"Just then Boaz came out from Bethlehem. He said to the workers, \"The LORD be with you.\" \"The LORD bless you,\" they answered."},{"verse":5,"text":"Boaz asked the man in charge of his workers, \"Who does that young woman belong to?\""},{"verse":6,"text":"The man answered, \"She is the woman from Moab. She came back with Naomi from the land of Moab."},{"verse":7,"text":"She asked me, 'Please let me pick up grain among the bundles behind the workers.' So she came out here. She has kept working from morning until now. She only rested a short time in the shelter.\""},{"verse":8,"text":"Then Boaz said to Ruth, \"Listen to me, my daughter. Don't go pick up grain in any other field. Don't leave this place. Stay here close to my servant girls."},{"verse":9,"text":"Watch which field they are harvesting, and follow along behind them. I have told the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go get a drink from the jars. The young men have filled them.\""},{"verse":10,"text":"Then Ruth bowed down with her face to the ground. She said to him, \"Why are you so kind to me? Why do you even notice me? I'm a foreigner.\""},{"verse":11,"text":"Boaz answered, \"I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know how you left your father and mother and the land where you were born. You came to live among people you did not know before."},{"verse":12,"text":"May the LORD pay you back for what you have done. May you get a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel. You have come to find safety under his wings.\""},{"verse":13,"text":"\"Sir,\" she said, \"may you keep on being kind to me. For you have comforted me. You have spoken kindly to me, your servant. And I am not even one of your servant girls.\""},{"verse":14,"text":"At mealtime Boaz said to her, \"Come over here. Have some bread, and dip it in the vinegar sauce.\" So she sat down beside the workers. He handed her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full, and she had some left over."},{"verse":15,"text":"When Ruth got up to pick up grain again, Boaz gave orders to his young men. He said, \"Even if she picks up grain among the bundles, don't shame her."},{"verse":16,"text":"Even pull out some stalks from the bundles for her. Leave them for her to pick up. Don't scold her.\""},{"verse":17,"text":"So Ruth picked up grain in the field until evening. Then she beat out the grain from what she had gathered. It came to about an ephah of barley.","note":"An ephah was about 20 dry quarts (about 22 liters)."},{"verse":18,"text":"She picked up the grain and went back into town. Her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Then Ruth brought out the food she had saved from her meal and gave it to Naomi."},{"verse":19,"text":"Her mother-in-law asked her, \"Where did you pick up grain today? Where did you work? May the man who noticed you be blessed!\" So Ruth told her mother-in-law where she had worked. \"The man I worked with today is named Boaz,\" she said."},{"verse":20,"text":"Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, \"May he be blessed by the LORD! He has not stopped being kind to the living or to the dead.\" Then Naomi said, \"That man is a close relative of ours. He is one of our family redeemers.\"","note":"A family redeemer (kinsman-redeemer) was a close relative who had the duty to help a family in need, such as buying back land or marrying a widow to carry on the family name."},{"verse":21,"text":"Then Ruth the woman from Moab said, \"He also told me, 'Stay with my young men until they have finished bringing in all my harvest.'\""},{"verse":22,"text":"Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, \"My daughter, it is good for you to go out with his young women. Then no one will hurt you in some other field.\""},{"verse":23,"text":"So Ruth stayed close to Boaz's servant girls and picked up grain. She did this until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were done. And she lived with her mother-in-law."}]},{"chapter":3,"verses":[{"verse":1,"text":"One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, \"My daughter, shouldn't I find a home of rest for you? I want things to go well for you."},{"verse":2,"text":"Now Boaz is a relative of ours. You have been working with his servant girls. Tonight he will be separating the barley from the straw on the threshing floor."},{"verse":3,"text":"So wash yourself and put on perfume. Put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking."},{"verse":4,"text":"When he lies down, notice the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.\""},{"verse":5,"text":"\"I will do everything you say,\" Ruth answered."},{"verse":6,"text":"So Ruth went down to the threshing floor. She did everything her mother-in-law told her to do."},{"verse":7,"text":"Boaz finished eating and drinking, and he was in a good mood. He went to lie down at the far end of the pile of grain. Then Ruth went over quietly. She uncovered his feet and lay down."},{"verse":8,"text":"In the middle of the night, something startled Boaz. He turned over, and there was a woman lying at his feet!"},{"verse":9,"text":"\"Who are you?\" he asked. \"I am Ruth, your servant,\" she said. \"Spread the corner of your robe over me, because you are a family redeemer.\""},{"verse":10,"text":"Boaz said, \"May the LORD bless you, my daughter. This kindness is even greater than what you showed before, because you did not go after the younger men, rich or poor."},{"verse":11,"text":"Now don't be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you ask, because all the people in my town know you are a woman of fine character."},{"verse":12,"text":"It is true that I am a family redeemer. But there is another redeemer who is a closer relative than I am."},{"verse":13,"text":"Stay here tonight. In the morning we will see if he wants to redeem you. If he does, good. Let him redeem you. But if he does not want to, then as surely as the LORD lives, I will do it. Now lie here until morning.\""},{"verse":14,"text":"So Ruth lay at his feet until morning. But she got up before it was light enough for anyone to know who she was. Boaz said, \"Don't let anyone know that a woman came to the threshing floor.\""},{"verse":15,"text":"Then he said, \"Bring me the shawl you are wearing, and hold it out.\" She held it out. He poured six measures of barley into it and put it on her back. Then he went into the town."},{"verse":16,"text":"Ruth went back to her mother-in-law. Naomi asked her, \"How did it go, my daughter?\" Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her."},{"verse":17,"text":"She said, \"He gave me these six measures of barley. He told me, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law with empty hands.'\""},{"verse":18,"text":"Naomi said, \"Wait, my daughter, until you find out how this turns out. That man will not rest until he has settled the matter today.\""}]},{"chapter":4,"verses":[{"verse":1,"text":"Meanwhile, Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer he had talked about came by. Boaz said, \"Come over here, my friend, and sit down.\" So the man came over and sat down."},{"verse":2,"text":"Then Boaz got ten of the town's elders. He said, \"Sit down here.\" So they sat down."},{"verse":3,"text":"Then Boaz said to the family redeemer, \"Naomi has come back from the land of Moab. She is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech."},{"verse":4,"text":"I thought I should tell you about it. You can buy it back in front of the people sitting here and the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do it. But if you won't, tell me so I will know. For no one but you has the right to redeem it, and I am next after you.\" \"I will redeem it,\" the man said."},{"verse":5,"text":"Then Boaz said, \"On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the woman from Moab, you must also take the dead man's widow as your wife. This is to keep the dead man's name alive on his land.\"","note":"Some manuscripts read: \"you also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the dead man's widow.\""},{"verse":6,"text":"The family redeemer said, \"Then I can't redeem it myself. If I did, I would put my own inheritance in danger. You take my right to redeem it, because I can't do it.\""},{"verse":7,"text":"Long ago in Israel, this is how people made a deal final when they redeemed or traded property. One man would take off his sandal and give it to the other man. That was how people in Israel showed a deal was settled."},{"verse":8,"text":"So the family redeemer took off his sandal. He said to Boaz, \"You buy it.\""},{"verse":9,"text":"Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, \"Today you are witnesses. I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon."},{"verse":10,"text":"I am also taking Ruth the woman from Moab, Mahlon's widow, to be my wife. That way the dead man's name will stay with his land. His name will not disappear from his family or from the town gate of his home. Today you are witnesses.\""},{"verse":11,"text":"The elders and all the people at the gate said, \"We are witnesses. May the LORD make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah. Together those two built up the family of Israel. May you do well in Ephrathah. May your name be famous in Bethlehem."},{"verse":12,"text":"The LORD will give you children by this young woman. Through them, may your family become like the family of Perez, the son Tamar had for Judah.\""},{"verse":13,"text":"So Boaz took Ruth home, and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the LORD let her become pregnant. She had a son."},{"verse":14,"text":"Then the women said to Naomi, \"Praise the LORD! Today he has not left you without a family redeemer. May this boy's name become famous in Israel."},{"verse":15,"text":"He will give you new life. He will take care of you when you are old. For your daughter-in-law has given birth to him. She loves you, and she is better to you than seven sons.\""},{"verse":16,"text":"Then Naomi took the baby and held him in her lap. She cared for him like a nurse."},{"verse":17,"text":"The women who lived nearby said, \"Naomi has a son!\" They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David."},{"verse":18,"text":"This is the family line of Perez. Perez was the father of Hezron."},{"verse":19,"text":"Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab."},{"verse":20,"text":"Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon."},{"verse":21,"text":"Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed."},{"verse":22,"text":"Obed was the father of Jesse. And Jesse was the father of David."}]}]}}