Rut 3

¹ And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? ² And now, is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he is winnowing barley in the threshing-floor to-night. ³ Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the floor; make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. ⁴ And it shall be, when he lies down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall have lain down, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thyself down; and he will shew thee what thou shalt do. ⁵ And she said to her, All that thou sayest will I do.

⁶ And she went down to the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law had bidden her. ⁷ And Boaz ate and drank, and his heart was merry, and he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn. Then she went softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid herself down. ⁸ And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was startled, and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet. ⁹ And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thy handmaid: spread thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou hast the right of redemption. ¹⁰ And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter! Thou hast shewn more kindness at the end than at the first, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, fear not: all that thou sayest will I do to thee; for all the gate of my people knows that thou art a woman of worth. ¹² And now, truly I am one that has the right of redemption, yet there is one that has the right of redemption who is nearer than I. ¹³ Stay over to-night, and it shall be in the morning, if he will redeem thee, well--let him redeem; but if he like not to redeem thee, then will I redeem thee, as Jehovah liveth. Lie down until the morning.

¹⁴ And she lay at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the threshing-floor. ¹⁵ And he said, Bring the cloak that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And she held it, and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; and he went into the city. ¹⁶ And she came to her mother-in-law; and she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. ¹⁷ And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law. ¹⁸ Then she said, Be still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest until he have completed the matter this day.