Ruth finds a husband
1A few days later Naomi said to Ruth: ‘My daughter, I must find a husband and a home for you where you can get what you need. 2You have been working with the women who work for Boaz and he is in our family. Tonight when it is dark, he will thresh barley on the threshing-floor. 3You must wash yourself and put perfume on yourself. Put on your best clothes and go to the threshing-floor, but Boaz must not know that you are there. Wait until he has finished eating his food and drinking his wine. 4Then he will lie down to sleep and you must make sure of where he goes to sleep. Later tonight you must go and lift the blanket from his feet and you must lie down there at his feet. When he wakes up, he will tell you what you must do.’
5Ruth said: ‘I will do what you say.’ 6Then Ruth went to the threshing-floor, and she did what Naomi told her to do.
7When Boaz finished his food and drink, he was happy and he lay down next to the heap of barley. Later Ruth came. She was very quiet and she went to Boaz. She lifted the blanket that was over his feet and she lay down there. 8In the middle of the night when Boaz moved, he saw a woman sleeping at his feet and he did not know who she was. 9He asked: ‘Who are you?’
She said: ‘Sir, I am Ruth. Please help me, because you are a protector of our family.’ 10Boaz said: ‘Young woman, I pray that God will do good things for you because you stayed with Naomi and now you want to stay in our family. You have seen young men, some who are rich, some who are poor, but you did not choose one of them to marry you. 11And now, young woman, you must not be afraid. I will do what you ask me. All the men in this town know that you are a good woman. 12It is true that I am a protector of the family, but there is another protector who is closer family to you. I must first ask him to help you. 13-15You must stay here until the morning. If he wants to help you, it is good, then he can help you. If he does not want to help you, I promise to help you and God is my Witness. You must lie here until the morning.’ Boaz also said to her: ‘No one must know that you came here. No person must know that a woman came to the threshing-floor.’
Then Boaz said: ‘Give me the coat that you are wearing.’ Ruth gave the coat to him and Boaz put 6 jars of barley into her coat. Then he gave the coat back to her. Ruth slept at the feet of Boaz until the morning. She got up while it was still dark, before the people could see her, and she went back to the town.
16When Ruth came home, Naomi asked her: ‘Ruth, what happened last night?’ Ruth told her what Boaz had done for her. 17And Ruth said: ‘Boaz also gave me all this barley and he said: “When you go back to Naomi, you must give her this barley. Your hands must not be empty.” ’
18Naomi said: ‘Ruth, you must wait. It will not be long, then you will know what Boaz will do. Today they will decide what to do. He will not rest until he has done what he said he would do.’
