Ruth 4:1-12
New American Standard Bible
The Marriage of Ruth
4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, (A)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, [a]friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. 2 Then he took ten men of the (B)elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land (C)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 So I thought that I would [b]inform you, saying, ‘(D)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if [c]not, tell me so that I may know; for (E)there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order (F)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6 Then (G)the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would [d]jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.”
7 Now this was (H)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel. 8 So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so (I)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the [e]court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” 11 And all the people who were [f]in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home (J)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve [g]wealth in Ephrathah and [h]become famous in Bethlehem. 12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of (K)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the [i]descendants whom the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
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Ruth 4:1-12
King James Version
4 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:
4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.
7 Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.
8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.
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Ruth 4:1-12
Living Bible
4 So Boaz went down to the marketplace[a] and found the relative he had mentioned.
“Say, come over here,” he called to him. “I want to talk to you a minute.”
So they sat down together. 2 Then Boaz called for ten of the chief men of the village and asked them to sit as witnesses.
3 Boaz said to his relative, “You know Naomi, who came back to us from Moab. She is selling our brother Elimelech’s property. 4 I felt that I should speak to you about it so that you can buy it if you wish, with these respected men as witnesses. If you want it,[b] let me know right away, for if you don’t take it, I will. You have the first right to purchase it and I am next.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll buy it.”
5 Then Boaz told him, “Your purchase of the land from Naomi requires your marriage to Ruth so that she can have children to carry on her husband’s name and to inherit the land.”
6 “Then I can’t do it,” the man replied. “For her son would become an heir to my property too;[c] you buy it.”
7 In those days it was the custom in Israel for a man transferring a right of purchase to pull off his sandal and hand it to the other party; this publicly validated the transaction. 8 So, as the man said to Boaz, “You buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
9 Then Boaz said to the witnesses and to the crowd standing around, “You have seen that today I have bought all the property of Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon, from Naomi, 10 and that with it I have purchased Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife, so that she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband.”
11 And all the people standing there and the witnesses replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman, who has now come into your home, as fertile as Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you be a great and successful man in Bethlehem, 12 and may the descendants the Lord will give you from this young woman be as numerous and honorable as those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”
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- Ruth 4:1 the marketplace, literally, “the gate” of the city, where legal affairs were usually transacted.
- Ruth 4:4 If you want it, literally, “If you want to redeem it.”
- Ruth 4:6 “For her son would become an heir to my property too,” or “That would ruin my own inheritance,” i.e., complicate his estate for the children he already had.
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