Ruth 3
1 One day, Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, I think that I should [RHQ] try to arrange for you to have a husband [MTY] who will (take care of/provide for) you.
And she lodged with her mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
2 Boaz, the man with whose [servant] girls you have been [gathering grain], is a close relative [of our dead husbands]. Listen [carefully]. Tonight he will be at the ground where [the barley has] been threshed. He will be separating the barley grain from the chaff.
And now [is] not Booz our kinsman, with whose damsels thou wast? behold, he winnows barley this night in the floor.
3 Bathe yourself and put on some perfume. Put on your [best] clothes. Then go down to the ground where they have threshed [the grain]. But do not let Boaz know that you are there while he is eating [supper] and drinking.
But do thou wash, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go up to the threshing-floor: do not discover thyself to the man until he has done eating and drinking.
4 [When he has finished eating], notice where he lies down to sleep. Then [when he is asleep], take the blanket off his feet and lie [close to his feet]. [When he wakes up], he will tell you what to do.”
And it shall come to pass when he lies down, that thou shalt mark the place where he lies down, and shalt come and lift up the covering of his feet, and shalt lie down; and he shall tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 Ruth replied, “I will do everything that you have told me [to do].”
And Ruth said to her, All that thou shalt say, I will do.
6 So she went down to the ground where they had threshed [the barley grain]. There she did everything that her mother-in-law had told her [to do].
And she went down to the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law enjoined her.
7 When Boaz finished eating [supper] and drinking [wine], he felt happy. Then he went over to the far end of the pile of grain. He lay down [and went to sleep]. Then Ruth approached him quietly. She took the blanket off his feet and lay down [there].
And Booz ate and drank, and his heart was glad, and he came to lie down by the side of the heap of corn; and she came secretly, and lifted up the covering of his feet.
8 In the middle of the night, he suddenly awoke. He sat up and saw that a woman was lying at his feet.
And it came to pass at midnight that the man was amazed, and troubled, and behold, a woman lay at his feet.
9 He asked her, “Who are you?” She replied, “I am your servant, Ruth. Since you are the one who has a responsibility to take care of [someone like me whose dead husband was] your close relative, spread the corner of your cloak over my [feet to show that you will marry me].”
And he said, Who art thou? and she said, I am thine handmaid Ruth; spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid, for thou art a near relation.
10 Boaz replied, “Young lady, I hope that Yahweh will (bless/be kind to) you! You have acted kindly [toward your mother-in-law], and now you are acting even more kindly [toward me by wanting to marry me, instead of wanting to marry a young man]. You have not looked for either a rich young man or a poor young man, [to marry him].
And Booz said, Blessed [be] thou of the Lord God, [my] daughter, for thou hast made thy latter kindness greater than the former, in that thou followest not after young men, whether [any be] poor or rich.
11 Now, young lady, I will do everything you ask. Don’t worry [that people in this town might think I am doing wrong by marrying you because you are a woman from Moab]. All the people in this town know that you are an honorable woman.
And now fear not, my daughter, whatever thou shalt say I will do to thee; for all the tribe of my people knows that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 But [there is one problem]. Although it is true that I am a close relative [of your mother-in-law’s dead husband], there is another man who is a closer relative [than I am], and therefore he should be the one to [marry you and] take care of you.
And now I am truly akin to thee; nevertheless there is a kinsman nearer than I.
13 You stay here for the rest of this night. Tomorrow morning [I will tell this man about you]. If he says that he will [marry you and] take care of you, fine, [we will] let him do that. But if he is not willing [to do that], I solemnly promise that as surely as Yahweh lives, I will [marry you and] take care of you. So lie/sleep here until it is morning.”
Lodge [here] for the night, and it shall be in the morning, if he will do the part of a kinsman to thee, well—let him do it: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, I will do the kinsman's part to thee, [as] the Lord lives; lie down till the morning.
14 So she lay at his feet until morning. But she got up and left before it was light enough that people would be able to recognize her, because Boaz said, “I do not want anyone to know that a woman was here.”
And she lay at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before a man could know his neighbour; and Booz said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
15 He also said to her, “Bring to me your cloak and spread it out.” When she did that, he poured into it six measures/24 liters/50 pounds of barley, and put in on her back. Then he (OR, she) went back to the town.
And he said to her, Bring the apron that is upon thee: and she held it, and he measured six measures of barley, and put them upon her, and she went into the city.
16 When Ruth arrived home, her mother-in-law asked her, “My daughter, how did (things go/Boaz act toward you)?” Then Ruth told her everything that Boaz had done for her [and said to her].
And Ruth went in to her mother-in-law, and she said to her, [My] daughter! and [Ruth] told her all that the man had done to her.
17 She also said [to Naomi], “He gave me all this barley, saying ‘I do not want you to return to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
And she said to her, He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law.
18 Then Naomi said, “My daughter, just wait until we see what happens. [I am sure that] Boaz will take care of [LIT] the matter [of your marriage]. [LIT]”
And she said, Sit still, [my] daughter, until thou shalt know how the matter will fall out; for the man will not rest until the matter be accomplished this day.
