Ruth 3
EasyEnglish Bible
Ruth and Boaz
3 One day, Naomi said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you. There you will have everything that you need. 2 You have worked with Boaz's women workers, and he is our relative. Tonight, he will be at the threshing floor where he prepares the barley seeds.[a] 3 So wash yourself carefully. Put some perfume on yourself. Put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor. Do not let Boaz know that you are there. Wait quietly until he has finished his food and drink. 4 After that, he will lie down to sleep. Then you will see where he is lying. Go and lift the cloth from over his feet. Lie down there. Then he will tell you what you should do.’
5 Ruth said, ‘I will do what you have said to me.’ 6 So she went down to the threshing floor. She did everything that Naomi had told her to do.
7 Boaz felt very happy when he had finished his food and drink. He lay down next to the heap of barley seeds. Ruth went to him very quietly. She lifted the cloth that covered his feet. Then she lay down there. 8 In the middle of the night, something caused Boaz to wake up suddenly. When he turned over, he saw a woman who was lying there at his feet!
9 He asked, ‘Who are you?’ Ruth replied, ‘I am your servant, Ruth. You are our family-redeemer, so please cover me with the corner of your cloth.’[b]
10 Boaz replied, ‘Young woman, I pray that the Lord will bless you. You have already been very kind to Naomi. Now you have been even more kind to me. You have not tried to marry a man who is younger than me, whether he is rich or poor. 11 So, young woman, do not be afraid. All the people in this town know that you are a good woman. I will do everything for you that you have asked me to do. 12 It is true that I am a family-redeemer for your family. But there is another relative who is nearer to your family than I am. 13 Stay here for this night. In the morning, we will see what to do. If this relative wants to take care of you, let him do it. If he does not agree, then I will do it. As surely as the Lord lives, I will do it. So just lie here until the morning.’
14 So Ruth lay beside Boaz's feet until morning arrived. Then she got up before anyone could see her. Boaz said to her, ‘Nobody must know that a woman came here to the threshing floor.’
15 He said to Ruth, ‘Bring me the coat that you are wearing.’ She brought the coat to him. Then Boaz poured six bowls of barley seeds onto it. He tied it together and put it on her shoulder. Later, he returned to the town.
16 When Ruth returned home to Naomi, Naomi asked her, ‘My daughter, what happened last night?’ Then Ruth told her everything that Boaz had done for her. 17 She said to Naomi, ‘He also gave me all this barley. He said, “Do not return to Naomi with nothing to give to her.” ’
18 Naomi said, ‘My daughter, you must be patient. We must wait to see what will happen. Boaz will surely do what he needs to do today.’
Footnotes
- 3:2 Boaz had brought all his barley from his fields to a place called the threshing floor. The grains of barley had two parts called the seed and the chaff. People used the seeds to make food. So they had to make the seed separate from the chaff. Boaz would take all the good seed from the barley. Then he would keep it safe to eat later that year.
- 3:9 This was a way that a woman could ask a man to marry her. Naomi wanted Boaz to marry Ruth. So she had told Ruth to do this.
Ruth 3
King James Version
3 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto 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 winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.
7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord 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 floor.
15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother in law, 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 unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
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