Ruth 1:1-3; Ruth 1:5; Ruth 1:9; Ruth 1:11-13; Ruth 2:1; Ruth 2:11; Ruth 2:19-20; Ruth 3:3; Ruth 3:8; Ruth 3:14; Ruth 3:16; Ruth 3:18; Ruth 4:2; Ruth 4:7 (New American Standard)

Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi ; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died ; and she was left with her two sons. 5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband. 9 "May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 11 But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands ? 12 "Return, my daughters ! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait until they were grown ? Would you therefore refrain from marrying ? No, my daughters ; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me."

Ruth Gleans in Boaz' Field

1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work ? May he who took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz." 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives." 3 "Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor ; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 8 It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward ; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another ; and he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor." 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did it go, my daughter ?" And she told her all that the man had done for her. 18 Then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today." 2 He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. 7 Now this was 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 manner of attestation in Israel.