CHAPTER 3
One day Ruth’s mother-in-law
Naomi
said to her,
“My daughter,
should I not
seek
a place
for you,
that
it may be well
with you?
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.
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.
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.”
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.’”
“Wait,
my daughter,”
said Naomi,
“until
you find out
how
things
go,
for
he
will not
rest
unless
he has resolved
the matter
today.”