Chapter 4

¹ And Booz went up to the gate, and sat there; and behold, the relative passed by, of whom Booz spoke: and Booz said to him, Turn aside, sit down here, ¹such a one: and he turned aside and sat down. ² And Booz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye here; and they sat down.

³ And Booz said to the relative, The matter regards the portion of the field which ²was our brother Elimelech's which was given to Noemin, now returning out of the land of Moab; ⁴ and I said, I will ³inform thee, saying, Buy it before those that sit, and before the elders of my people: if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not redeem it, tell me, and I shall know; for there is no one beside thee to do the office of a kinsman, and I am after thee: and he said, I am here, I will redeem it. ⁵ And Booz said, In the day of thy buying the field of the hand of Noemin and of Ruth

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the Moabitess the wife of the deceased, thou must also buy her, so as to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. ⁶ And the kinsman said, I shall not be able to redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; do thou redeem my right for thyself, for I shall not be able to redeem it.

⁷ And this was in former time the ordinance in Israel for redemption, and for a bargain, to confirm every word: A man loosed his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour that redeemed his right; and this was a testimony in Israel. ⁸ And the kinsman said to Booz, Buy my right for thyself: and he took off his shoe and gave it to him.

⁹ And Booz said to the elders and to all the people, Ye are this day witnesses, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that ⁴belonged to Chelaion and Maalon, of the hand of Noemin. ¹⁰ Moreover I have bought for myself for a wife Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Maalon, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance; so the name of the dead shall not be destroyed from among his brethren, and from the tribe of his people: ye are this day witnesses.

¹¹ And all the people who were in the gate said, We are witnesses: and the elders said, The Lord ⁵make thy wife who goes into thy house, as Rachel and as Lia, who both together built the house of Israel, and wrought mightily in Ephratha, and there shall be a name to thee in Bethleem. ¹² And let thy house be as the house of Phares, whom Thamar bore to Juda, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this handmaid.

¹³ And Booz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her; and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴ And the woman said to Noemin, Blessed is the Lord, who has not suffered a redeemer to fail thee this day, even to make thy name famous in Israel. ¹⁵ And he shall be to thee a restorer of thy soul, and one to cherish thy old age; for thy daughter-in-law which has loved thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, has born him. ¹⁶ And Noemin took the child and laid it in her bosom, and became a nurse to it.

¹⁷ And the neighbours gave it a name, saying, A son has been born to Noemin; and they called his name Obed; this is the father of Jessae the father of David. ¹⁸ And these are the generations of Phares: Phares begot Esrom: ¹⁹ Esrom begot Aram; and Aram begot Aminadab. ²⁰ And Aminadab begot Naasson; and Naasson begot Salmon. ²¹ And Salmon begot Booz; and Booz begot Obed. ²² And Obed begot Jessæ; and Jessae begot David.

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