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Some time later Naomi said to Ruth, "I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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Ruth answered, "I will do everything you say."
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So Ruth went to the threshing place and did just what her mother-in-law had told her.
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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.
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During the night he woke up suddenly, turned over, and was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet.
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"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."
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"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.
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Now don't worry, Ruth. I will do everything you ask; as everyone in town knows, you are a fine woman.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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She added, "He told me I must not come back to you empty-handed, so he gave me all this barley."
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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."
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Boaz went to the meeting place at the town gate and sat down there. Then Elimelech's nearest relative, the man whom Boaz had mentioned, came by, and Boaz called to him, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.
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Then Boaz got ten of the leaders of the town and asked them to sit down there too. When they were seated,
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he said to his relative, "Now that Naomi has come back from Moab, she wants to sell the field that belonged to our relative Elimelech,
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and I think you ought to know about it. Now then, if you want it, buy it in the presence of these men sitting here. But if you don't want it, say so, because the right to buy it belongs first to you and then to me." The man said, "I will buy it."
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Boaz said, "Very well, if you buy the field from Naomi, then you are also buying Ruth, the Moabite widow, so that the field will stay in the dead man's family."
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The man answered, "In that case I will give up my right to buy the field, because it would mean that my own children would not inherit it. You buy it; I would rather not."
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Now in those days, to settle a sale or an exchange of property, it was the custom for the seller to take off his sandal and give it to the buyer. In this way the Israelites showed that the matter was settled.
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So when the man said to Boaz, "You buy it," he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz.
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Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the others there, "You are all witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech and to his sons Chilion and Mahlon.
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In addition, Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon's widow, becomes my wife. This will keep the property in the dead man's family, and his family line will continue among his people and in his hometown. You are witnesses to this today."
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The leaders and the others said, "Yes, we are witnesses. May the LORD make your wife become like Rachel and Leah, who bore many children to Jacob. May you become rich in the clan of Ephrath and famous in Bethlehem.
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May the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman make your family like the family of Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar."
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So Boaz took Ruth home as his wife. The LORD blessed her, and she became pregnant and had a son.
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The women said to Naomi, "Praise the LORD! He has given you a grandson today to take care of you. May the boy become famous in Israel!
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Your daughter-in-law loves you, and has done more for you than seven sons. And now she has given you a grandson, who will bring new life to you and give you security in your old age."
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Naomi took the child, held him close, and took care of him.
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The women of the neighborhood named the boy Obed. They told everyone, "A son has been born to Naomi!" Obed became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
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This is the family line from Perez to David: Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David.
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I am in trouble, God---listen to my prayer! I am afraid of my enemies---save my life!
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Protect me from the plots of the wicked, from mobs of evil people.
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They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like arrows.
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They are quick to spread their shameless lies; they destroy good people with cowardly slander.
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They encourage each other in their evil plots; they talk about where they will place their traps. "No one can see them," they say.
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They make evil plans and say, "We have planned a perfect crime." The human heart and mind are a mystery.
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But God shoots his arrows at them, and suddenly they are wounded.
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He will destroy them because of those words; all who see them will shake their heads.
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They will all be afraid; they will think about what God has done and tell about his deeds.
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All righteous people will rejoice because of what the LORD has done. They will find safety in him; all good people will praise him.
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O God, it is right for us to praise you in Zion and keep our promises to you,
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because you answer prayers. People everywhere will come to you
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on account of their sins. Our faults defeat us, but you forgive them.
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Happy are those whom you choose, whom you bring to live in your sanctuary. We shall be satisfied with the good things of your house, the blessings of your sacred Temple.
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You answer us by giving us victory, and you do wonderful things to save us. People all over the world and across the distant seas trust in you.
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You set the mountains in place by your strength, showing your mighty power.
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You calm the roar of the seas and the noise of the waves; you calm the uproar of the peoples.
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The whole world stands in awe of the great things that you have done. Your deeds bring shouts of joy from one end of the earth to the other.
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You show your care for the land by sending rain; you make it rich and fertile. You fill the streams with water; you provide the earth with crops. This is how you do it:
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you send abundant rain on the plowed fields and soak them with water; you soften the soil with showers and cause the young plants to grow.
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What a rich harvest your goodness provides! Wherever you go there is plenty.
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The pastures are filled with flocks; the hillsides are full of joy.
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The fields are covered with sheep; the valleys are full of wheat. Everything shouts and sings for joy.
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In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted.
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Hear what God says: "When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; when the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you." Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favor; today is the day to be saved!
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We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so we try not to put obstacles in anyone's way.
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Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.
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We have been beaten, jailed, and mobbed; we have been overworked and have gone without sleep or food.
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By our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness we have shown ourselves to be God's servants---by the Holy Spirit, by our true love,
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by our message of truth, and by the power of God. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.
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We are honored and disgraced; we are insulted and praised. We are treated as liars, yet we speak the truth;
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as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed;
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although saddened, we are always glad; we seem poor, but we make many people rich; we seem to have nothing, yet we really possess everything.
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Dear friends in Corinth! We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide.
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It is not we who have closed our hearts to you; it is you who have closed your hearts to us.
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I speak now as though you were my children: show us the same feelings that we have for you. Open your hearts wide!
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Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together?
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How can Christ and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
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How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, "I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
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And so the Lord says, "You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you.
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I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
