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?
And now is not Boaz of our kindred
, with whose maidens
thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth
barley
to night
in the threshingfloor
.
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
.
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
.
And she said unto her, All that thou sayest
unto me I will do
.
And she went down unto the floor
, and did
according to all that her mother in law
bade
her.
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
.
And it came to pass at midnight, that the man
was afraid
, and turned
himself: and, behold, a woman
lay
at his feet
.
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
.
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
.
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
.
And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman
: howbeit there is
a kinsman
nearer
than I.
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
.
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
.
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
.
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.
And she said, These six
measures of barley
gave
he me; for he said
to me, Go
not empty
unto thy mother in law
.
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
.