| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1At that time, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, "My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. | 1One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. |
| 2Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. | 2Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. |
| 3So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil, and get dressed up. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don't let the man know you're there until he finishes his meal. | 3Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. |
| 4When he gets ready to go to sleep, take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, and lie down beside him. He will tell you what you should do." | 4Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.” |
| 5Ruth replied to Naomi, "I will do everything you have told me to do." | 5“I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. |
| 6So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. | 6So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law. |
| 7When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. Then Ruth crept up quietly, uncovered his legs, and lay down beside him. | 7After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. |
| 8In the middle of the night he was startled and turned over. Now he saw a woman lying beside him! | 8Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! |
| 9He said, "Who are you?" She replied, "I am Ruth, your servant. Marry your servant, for you are a guardian of the family interests." | 9“Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.” |
| 10He said, "May you be rewarded by the LORD, my dear! This act of devotion is greater than what you did before. For you have not sought to marry one of the young men, whether rich or poor. | 10“The LORD bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. |
| 11Now, my dear, don't worry! I intend to do for you everything you propose, for everyone in the village knows that you are a worthy woman. | 11Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. |
| 12Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian, but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. | 12But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. |
| 13Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, fine, let him do so. But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the LORD lives, to marry you. Sleep here until morning." | 13Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the LORD lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.” |
| 14So she slept beside him until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought, "No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor." | 14So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” |
| 15Then he said, "Hold out the shawl you are wearing and grip it tightly." As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he went into town, | 15Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he returned to the town. |
| 16and she returned to her mother-in-law. Ruth Returns to Naomi When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did things turn out for you, my daughter?" Ruth told her about all the man had done for her. | 16When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?” Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, |
| 17She said, "He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, 'Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" | 17and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” |
| 18Then Naomi said, "Stay put, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today." | 18Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.” |
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