RuthChapter 3

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¹One 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. ²Now 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. ³So 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. ⁴When 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." ⁵"I will do everything you say," Ruth answered. ⁶So Ruth went down to the threshing floor. She did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. ⁷Boaz 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. ⁸In the middle of the night, something startled Boaz. He turned over, and there was a woman lying at his feet! ⁹"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." ¹⁰Boaz 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. ¹¹Now 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. ¹²It is true that I am a family redeemer. But there is another redeemer who is a closer relative than I am. ¹³Stay 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." ¹⁴So 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." ¹⁵Then 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. ¹⁶Ruth 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. ¹⁷She said, "He gave me these six measures of barley. He told me, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law with empty hands.'" ¹⁸Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out how this turns out. That man will not rest until he has settled the matter today."