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.

Then said Na'omi her mother-in-law unto her, My daughter, behold I will seek for thee a resting-place, where 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, behold, Bo'az is our kinsman, he with whose maidens thou hast been. Lo, he is winnowing the barley to-night in the threshing-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.

Therefore bathe, and anoint thyself, and put thy garments upon thee, and go down to the threshing-floor; [but] make thyself not known unto the man, until he shall have finished 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 be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt note the place where he will lie, and thou shalt then go in, and lift up the covering that is on his feet, and lay thyself down: and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

5 Ruth replied, “I will do everything that you have told me [to do].”

And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me will I 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 unto the threshing-floor, and did in accordance with all that her mother-in-law had commanded 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 Bo'az ate and drank, and his heart became merry; and he then went in to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came in softly, and lifted up the covering that was on his feet, and laid herself down.

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 became terrified, and bent himself forward; and, behold, a woman was lying 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 Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

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 he said, Blessed be thou unto the Lord, my daughter; for thou hast shown more kindness in the last instance than the first, by not going after the young men, whether they 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, my daughter, fear not: all that thou mayest say will I do for thee; for all [the men in] the gate of my people know 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, it is indeed true that I am thy near kinsman; 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.”

Remain here this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will redeem thee, well, let him redeem; but if he be not willing to redeem thee, then will I redeem thee, as the Lord liveth: lie still until 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 one could know another. And he said, It must not be known that this woman came into the threshing-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.

Also he said, Bring hither the cloak that thou hast upon thee, and lay hold of it. And she laid hold of it, and he measured six [measures] of barley, and laid it on her, and 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 she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, How is it with thee, my daughter? And she 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, These six measures of barley gave he unto me; for he said to me, Thou shalt not come 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]”

Then said she, Remain still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall out; for the man will not rest, until he have finished the matter this day.