Ruth

The story of Ruth, a loyal woman who becomes part of the Israelite community and the great-grandmother of King David.

Chapter 4

1 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.

*Then Boaz went to the entrance and sat down. As luck would have it, the relative Boaz mentioned arrived. Boaz called out to him, "Hey, come over here! Sit down next to me." So, the man did as he was told and sat down beside Boaz.

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

*He chose ten older people from the city and told them to sit there. So, 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:

*He told the relative about Naomi, who returned from Moab, to sell a piece of land that belonged to their brother Elimelech.

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.

*I thought about telling others to buy it before the people and leaders. If you want to buy it, do so; if not, let me know. No one else can buy it except you, and I'm waiting for your decision. He replied, "I will buy 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.

*Then Boaz said, "When you purchase the land from Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth, the Moabite widow, so that she can continue the deceased person's legacy on their property."

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.

*The relative said, "I can't buy it back for myself because it would harm my own inheritance. You buy back my rights for yourself, because I can't do 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.

*In the past, in Israel, when someone needed to redeem something or change a transaction, they would remove a shoe, give it to their neighbor as a symbol, and this acted as proof in Israel.

8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.

*So the relative told Boaz, "Buy it," and then he removed 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.

*Boaz told the leaders and everyone there, "You all saw today that I bought everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon from 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.

*In addition, I bought Ruth, who was married to Mahlon, to be my wife. This is so that we can keep Mahlon's memory alive in his family land and not let his name disappear among his relatives and the people in his town. You all are witnesses to this today.

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:

*And all the people at the entrance, along with the older folks, said, "We saw it! May the Lord make the woman joining your family like Rachel and Leah, who both helped build Israel's home. Be well-known in Ephrata and 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.

*Make your home like Pharez's house, born from Tamar to Judah, from the children God will give you through this young lady.

13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.

*Boaz married Ruth, and she became his wife. When they got together, God helped her become pregnant, and she had a baby boy.

14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.

*The women told Naomi, "Thank you, Lord, for not leaving her without family today. Now her relative will be well-known in Israel."

15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.

*He will restore your life and support you in old age. Your loving daughter-in-law, who is better than having seven sons, has given birth to him.

16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.

*Naomi held the baby against her chest and cared for it like a mother.

17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

*The women nearby named the baby, saying, "Naomi had a son!" They named him Obed, who became the father of Jesse and the great-grandfather of David.

18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

*Now, Pharez's descendants are as follows: Pharez had a son named Hezron.

19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,

*Hezron had a son named Ram, and Ram had a son named Amminadab.

20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

*Amminadab had a child named Nahshon, and Nahshon had a child named Salmon.

21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

*Salmon had a son named Boaz, and Boaz had a son named Obed.

22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

*And Obed had a son named Jesse, and Jesse had a son named David.

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