Ruth 4:4

4 And I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.' " And he said, "I will redeem it."

Ruth 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 4:4

And I thought to advertise thee
To give him notice of it; or "I said" F7; he said in his heart and mind, purposing to do it; or he said it to Ruth, promising her that he would do it:

saying, buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my
people;
or before those that sat there, even the elders, as witnesses of the purchase:

if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it:
for it was redeemable by a near kinsman according to the law, even when said to another, in ( Leviticus 25:25 ) ,

but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know;
what to do in this affair, whether to redeem it or not:

for there is none to redeem it besides thee, and I am after thee;
he was the first, and Boaz was the next near kinsman, to whom the right of redemption belonged:

and he said, I will redeem it:
he chose to make the purchase, he liked the land, which he probably full well knew, and it might lie near his own, and make a good addition to it; and as the widow was determined, and under a necessity to sell, he might expect to have it at a cheap rate; all which might induce him at once to agree to be the purchaser.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 (ytrma ynaw) "et ego dixi", Pagninus, Montanus

Ruth 4:4 In-Context

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
3 Then he said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.
4 And I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.' " And he said, "I will redeem it."
5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance."
6 And the close relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Following many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads he.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.