1 Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said: 'Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here.' And he turned aside, and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said: 'Sit ye down here.' And they sat down. 3 And he said unto the near kinsman: 'Naomi, that is come back out of the field of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's; 4 and I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying: Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it; but if it will not be redeemed, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee.' And he said: 'I will redeem it.' 5 Then said Boaz: 'What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi — hast thou also bought of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance?' 6 And the near kinsman said: 'I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it.' — 7 Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour; and this was the attestation in Israel. — 8 So the near kinsman said unto Boaz: 'Buy it for thyself.' And he drew off his shoe. 9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people: 'Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I acquired to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; ye are witnesses this day.' 11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said: 'We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and do thou worthily in Ephrath, and be famous in Beth-lehem; 12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.' 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 And the women said unto Naomi: 'Blessed be the LORD, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman, and let his name be famous in Israel. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age; for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.' 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying: 'There is a son born to Naomi'; and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 and Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 and Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 and Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
Ruth 4 JPS Tanakh (1917)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Numbers like (22-2) in the text give the Hebrew verse numbering where it differs.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Amminadab
His family rose to prominence in Judah around the time of the Exodus.
Cited in the guide: Exod. 6:23; Ruth 4:19-20; 1 Chron. 2:10; Matt. 1:4
Boaz
The kind landowner of Bethlehem who redeemed and married Ruth the Moabite.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 2-4; 1 Chron. 2:11-12; Matt. 1:5
Hezron
A son of Perez who carried Judah's royal line down into the years of Egypt.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 46:12; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chron. 2:5, 9; Matt. 1:3
Jesse
The Bethlehemite whose youngest son David was anointed king of Israel.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16:1-13; Isa. 11:1; Ruth 4:22; Matt. 1:5-6
Mahlon
Son of Elimelech and Naomi who died in Moab and whose widow Ruth Boaz acquired as his wife to raise up Mahlon's name on his inheritance.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1:2; Ruth 1:5; Ruth 4:9
Nahshon
Leader of the tribe of Judah in the wilderness, first to bring his offering.
Cited in the guide: Num. 1:7; 2:3; 7:12; Ruth 4:20; Matt. 1:4
Obed
Son of Boaz and Ruth, and grandfather of King David.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 4:13-22; 1 Chron. 2:12; Matt. 1:5; Luke 3:32
Perez
Born of Judah and Tamar, he became the head of the leading clan of Judah.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 38; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chron. 2:4-5; Matt. 1:3
Ram
A little-known link in the chain, faithfully recorded between Hezron and Amminadab.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 4:19; 1 Chron. 2:9-10; Matt. 1:3-4; Luke 3:33
Ruth
The loyal Moabite widow whose devotion made her great-grandmother of King David.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1-4; Matthew 1:5
Salmon
He married Rahab of Jericho and fathered Boaz as Israel settled the land.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 4:20-21; 1 Chron. 2:11; Matt. 1:4-5
Cross references (20)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Deuteronomy 25:7; Ruth 3:12; Deuteronomy 16:18; Job 29:7; Amos 5:10–12
- 2 Proverbs 31:23; 1 Kings 21:8; Acts 6:12; Exodus 21:8; Lamentations 5:14
- 3 Psalm 112:5; Proverbs 13:10
- 4 Jeremiah 32:7–12; 2 Corinthians 8:21; Leviticus 25:25–29; Romans 12:17; Philippians 4:8
- 5 Matthew 22:24; Genesis 38:8; Deuteronomy 25:5–6; Ruth 3:12–13; Luke 20:28
- 6 Ruth 3:13; Leviticus 25:25
- 7 Deuteronomy 25:7–10
- 9 Genesis 23:16–18; Jeremiah 32:10–12
- 10 Deuteronomy 25:6; Ephesians 5:25; Genesis 29:27; Hosea 12:12; Isaiah 8:2–3
- 11 Genesis 29:32–30:24; Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2; Genesis 35:16–20; Psalm 127:3–5
- 12 Genesis 38:29; 1 Chronicles 2:4; 1 Samuel 2:20; Genesis 46:12; Matthew 1:3
- 13 Genesis 29:31; Genesis 33:5; Psalm 127:3; Ruth 3:11; Genesis 25:21
- 14 Luke 1:58; Matthew 1:5–20; Genesis 12:2; Isaiah 11:1–4; Ruth 4:21–22
- 15 Isaiah 46:4; Psalm 55:22; Genesis 45:11; Ruth 2:11–12; Proverbs 18:24
- 17 Luke 1:58–63
- 18 Matthew 1:3–6; 1 Chronicles 2:4–8; Luke 3:33; 1 Chronicles 4:1
- 19 1 Chronicles 2:9–10; Luke 3:33; Matthew 1:4
- 20 Numbers 1:7; Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:32
- 21 Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32; 1 Chronicles 2:11–12
- 22 Matthew 1:6; 1 Chronicles 2:15; 1 Samuel 16:1; Luke 3:31; Isaiah 11:1
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences