Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect
Ruth 3
Naomi’s Plan
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, so that it may go well with you? Now, isn’t Boaz our relative, whose young women you have been with? Tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. Wash, anoint yourself, put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor. But do not let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, notice the place where he lies. Then go, uncover his feet, and lie down. He will tell you what to do.” Ruth said to her, “Everything you say, I will do.”
Ruth Approaches Boaz
So Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. Boaz ate and drank, and he was in good spirits. Then he went to lie down at the end of the grain pile. Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over—and there was a woman lying at his feet. He asked, “Who are you?” She answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread the corner of your garment over your servant, because you are a redeemer.”
Boaz said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have shown greater steadfast love now than at first, because you have not gone after younger men, whether poor or rich. Now, my daughter, do not be afraid. I will do everything you ask, because everyone in town knows that you are a woman of standing. It is true that I am a redeemer, but there is a redeemer nearer than I. Stay here tonight. In the morning, if he will redeem you, good—let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until morning.”
Boaz’s Promise
So Ruth lay at his feet until morning, but she got up before one person could recognize another. Boaz said, “It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” Then he said, “Bring me the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.” She held it out, and he measured six measures of barley and placed it on her. Then he went into the town.
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?” Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he told me, ‘You must not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out. The man will not rest until he settles the matter today.”