Scripture Reference Window Browser "Back" or "Alt+Left_Arrow" to return.
--- The Book of Ruth ---
The principle characters are the Hebrew Woman Naomi, and, of course, Ruth the Moabitess. Jesus was sent to help us become God's friends. (John 15:11-22) Before Jesus appeared, however, there were still faithful people trying to be friends with the true God . (James 2:23) [ יהוה is the Hebrew name of God from the original Old Testament language.] Most of us realize there are people today who claim to be Christian, but are really just Religionists. They want to be part of and/or approved by some religious group, but appear to have no real interest in getting to know and certainly in pleasing the one true God. Under Judaism, there were people who claimed to be Jews who were also just religious. It has always been the same: There are people who want a God who will approve the lifestyle they have chosen; (2 Tim 4:3 of 1-5) and then, there are righteously inclined individuals seeking to make necessary changes to know and become friends with the one true God of Creation. (1 Cor 6:9-11) Ruth and Naomi help us understand both types. Ruth seems a woman seeking to be friends with , while Naomi seems more like she just wanted to be part of a religion: Naomi should have wanted her daughters-in-law to worship the true God, and should have tried to help them to become Jewish proselytes. Rather, she tried to send them back to their families and "their" gods. Naomi should not have blamed for the bad that befell her. (Ecc 9:11 - The righteous will prevail, of course, but not necessarily in the short term: Example Jesus. - Heb 2:2-3) Additionally, Naomi should have appreciated Ruth's faithfulness and help. Hopefully, Naomi did learn better... [Caution, God gave the Bible to "all" of us. It is up to you to understand for yourself what it teaches. What I "read in" or "believe I understand" about the character of Naomi is just my opinion. If you carefully listen to Christ (by immersing yourself in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) as well as reading the balance of the Bible, you will always safeguard yourself from the opinions of even well meaning individuals: Each of whom, being very different from Jesus, (John 5:19-24) are at all times subject to being wrong!]
Ruth Complete - English Standard Version: . . . In the days when the judges ruled (before the kings) there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and 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. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. (3) But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. (4) These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, (5) and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. (6) Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD ( יהוה ) had visited his people and given them food. (7) So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. (8) But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. (9) The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!" Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. (10) And they said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." (11) But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? (12) Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, (13) would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD () has gone out against me." (14) Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. (15) And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." (16) But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. (17) Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you." (18) And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. (19) So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" (20) She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. (21) I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD ( יהוה ) has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" (22) So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth 2:1-23 ESV Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. (2) And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." (3) So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. (4) And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!" And they answered, "The LORD bless you." (5) Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" (6) And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, "She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. (7) She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest." (8) Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. (9) Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn." (10) Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" (11) But Boaz answered her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. (12) The LORD ( יהוה ) repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" (13) Then she said, "I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants." (14) And at mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. (15) When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. (16) And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her." (17) So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. (18) And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. (19) And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz." (20) And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" Naomi also said to her, "The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers." (21) And Ruth the Moabite said, "Besides, he said to me, 'You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'" (22) And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted." (23) So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth 3:1-18 ESV Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? (2) Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. (3) Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. (4) But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do." (5) And she replied, "All that you say I will do." (6) So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. (7) And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. (8) At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! (9) He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer." (10) And he said, "May you be blessed by the LORD ( יהוה ), my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. (11) And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. (12) And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. (13) Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning." (14) So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor." (15) And he said, "Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out." So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. (16) And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did you fare, my daughter?" Then she told her all that the man had done for her, (17) saying, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, 'You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'" (18) She replied, "Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today." Ruth 4:1-22 ESV Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend; 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 down here." So they sat down. (3) Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. (4) So I thought I would tell you of it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, "I will redeem it." (5) Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance." (6) Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it." (7) Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. (8) So when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," he drew off his sandal. (9) Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. (10) Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day." (11) Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, (12) and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman." (13) So Boaz 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) Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD ( יהוה ), who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! (15) He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." (16) Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. (17) And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (18) Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, (19) Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, (20) Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, (21) Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, (22) Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
Ruth Complete GNB Long ago, in the days before Israel had a king, there was a famine in the land. So a man named Elimelech, who belonged to the clan of Ephrath and who lived in Bethlehem in Judah, went with his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion to live for a while in the country of Moab. While they were living there, (2) (SEE 1:1) (3) Elimelech died, and Naomi was left alone with her two sons, (4) who married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. About ten years later (5) Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left all alone, without husband or sons. (6) Some time later Naomi heard that the LORD ( יהוה ) had blessed his people by giving them good crops; so she got ready to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law. (7) They started out together to go back to Judah, but on the way (8) she said to them, "Go back home and stay with your mothers. May the LORD be as good to you as you have been to me and to those who have died. (9) And may the LORD make it possible for each of you to marry again and have a home." So Naomi kissed them good-bye. But they started crying (10) and said to her, "No! We will go with you to your people." (11) "You must go back, my daughters," Naomi answered. "Why do you want to come with me? Do you think I could have sons again for you to marry? (12) Go back home, for I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought there was still hope, and so got married tonight and had sons, (13) would you wait until they had grown up? Would this keep you from marrying someone else? No, my daughters, you know that's impossible. The LORD has turned against me, and I feel very sorry for you." (14) Again they started crying. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye and went back home, but Ruth held on to her. (15) So Naomi said to her, "Ruth, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Go back home with her." (16) But Ruth answered, "Don't ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. (17) Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the LORD's worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!" (18) When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. (19) They went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived, the whole town became excited, and the women there exclaimed, "Is this really Naomi?" (20) "Don't call me Naomi," she answered; "call me Marah, because Almighty God has made my life bitter. (21) When I left here, I had plenty, but the LORD has brought me back without a thing. Why call me Naomi when the LORD ( יהוה ) Almighty has condemned me and sent me trouble?" (22) This, then, was how Naomi came back from Moab with Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the barley harvest was just beginning. Ruth 2:1-23 GNB Naomi had a relative named Boaz, a rich and influential man who belonged to the family of her husband Elimelech. (2) One day Ruth said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields to gather the grain that the harvest workers leave. I am sure to find someone who will let me work with him." Naomi answered, "Go ahead, daughter." (3) So Ruth went out to the fields and walked behind the workers, picking up the heads of grain which they left. It so happened that she was in a field that belonged to Boaz. (4) Some time later Boaz himself arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the workers. "The LORD ( יהוה ) be with you!" he said. "The LORD bless you!" they answered. (5) Boaz asked the man in charge, "Who is that young woman?" (6) The man answered, "She is the foreigner who came back from Moab with Naomi. (7) She asked me to let her follow the workers and gather grain. She has been working since early morning and has just now stopped to rest for a while under the shelter." (8) Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Let me give you some advice. Don't gather grain anywhere except in this field. Work with the women here; (9) watch them to see where they are reaping and stay with them. I have ordered my men not to molest you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and drink from the water jars that they have filled." (10) Ruth bowed down with her face touching the ground, and said to Boaz, "Why should you be so concerned about me? Why should you be so kind to a foreigner?" (11) Boaz answered, "I have heard about everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know how you left your father and mother and your own country and how you came to live among a people you had never known before. (12) May the LORD reward you for what you have done. May you have a full reward from the LORD God of Israel, to whom you have come for protection!" (13) Ruth answered, "You are very kind to me, sir. You have made me feel better by speaking gently to me, even though I am not the equal of one of your servants." (14) At mealtime Boaz said to Ruth, "Come and have a piece of bread, and dip it in the sauce." So she sat with the workers, and Boaz passed some roasted grain to her. She ate until she was satisfied, and she still had some food left over. (15) After she had left to go and gather grain, Boaz ordered the workers, "Let her gather grain even where the bundles are lying, and don't say anything to stop her. Besides that, pull out some heads of grain from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up." (16) (SEE 2:15) (17) So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening, and when she had beaten it out, she found she had nearly twenty-five pounds. (18) She took the grain back into town and showed her mother-in-law how much she had gathered. She also gave her the food left over from the meal. (19) Naomi asked her, "Where did you gather all this grain today? Whose field have you been working in? May God bless the man who took an interest in you!" So Ruth told Naomi that she had been working in a field belonging to a man named Boaz. (20) "May the LORD ( יהוה ) bless Boaz!" Naomi exclaimed. "The LORD always keeps his promises to the living and the dead." And she went on, "That man is a close relative of ours, one of those responsible for taking care of us." (21) Then Ruth said, "Best of all, he told me to keep gathering grain with his workers until they finish the harvest." (22) Naomi said to Ruth, "Yes, daughter, it will be better for you to work with the women in Boaz' field. You might be molested if you went to someone else's field." (23) So Ruth worked with them and gathered grain until all the barley and wheat had been harvested. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law. Ruth 3:1-18 GNB Some time later Naomi said to Ruth, "I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own. (2) Remember that this man Boaz, whose women you have been working with, is our relative. Now listen. This evening he will be threshing the barley. (3) So wash yourself, put on some perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go where he is threshing, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. (4) Be sure to notice where he lies down, and after he falls asleep, go and lift the covers and lie down at his feet. He will tell you what to do." (5) Ruth answered, "I will do everything you say." (6) So Ruth went to the threshing place and did just what her mother-in-law had told her. (7) When Boaz had finished eating and drinking, he was in a good mood. He went to the pile of barley and lay down to sleep. Ruth slipped over quietly, lifted the covers and lay down at his feet. (8) During the night he woke up suddenly, turned over, and was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet. (9) "Who are you?" he asked. "It's Ruth, sir," she answered. "Because you are a close relative, you are responsible for taking care of me. So please marry me." (10) "The LORD ( יהוה ) bless you," he said. "You are showing even greater family loyalty in what you are doing now than in what you did for your mother-in-law. You might have gone looking for a young man, either rich or poor, but you haven't. (11) Now don't worry, Ruth. I will do everything you ask; as everyone in town knows, you are a fine woman. (12) It is true that I am a close relative and am responsible for you, but there is a man who is a closer relative than I am. (13) Stay here the rest of the night, and in the morning we will find out whether or not he will take responsibility for you. If so, well and good; if not, then I swear by the living LORD that I will take the responsibility. Now lie down and stay here till morning." (14) So she lay there at his feet, but she got up before it was light enough for her to be seen, because Boaz did not want anyone to know that she had been there. (15) Boaz said to her, "Take off your cloak and spread it out here." She did, and he poured out almost fifty pounds of barley and helped her lift it to her shoulder. Then she returned to town with it. (16) When she arrived home, her mother-in-law asked her, "How did you get along, daughter?" Ruth told her everything that Boaz had done for her. (17) She added, "He told me I must not come back to you empty-handed, so he gave me all this barley." (18) Naomi said to her, "Now be patient, Ruth, until you see how this all turns out. Boaz will not rest today until he settles the matter." Ruth 4:1-22 GNB Boaz went to the meeting place at the town gate and sat down there. Then Elimelech's nearest relative, the man whom Boaz had mentioned, came by, and Boaz called to him, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down. (2) Then Boaz got ten of the leaders of the town and asked them to sit down there too. When they were seated, (3) he said to his relative, "Now that Naomi has come back from Moab, she wants to sell the field that belonged to our relative Elimelech, (4) and I think you ought to know about it. Now then, if you want it, buy it in the presence of these men sitting here. But if you don't want it, say so, because the right to buy it belongs first to you and then to me." The man said, "I will buy it." (5) Boaz said, "Very well, if you buy the field from Naomi, then you are also buying Ruth, the Moabite widow, so that the field will stay in the dead man's family." (6) The man answered, "In that case I will give up my right to buy the field, because it would mean that my own children would not inherit it. You buy it; I would rather not." (7) Now in those days, to settle a sale or an exchange of property, it was the custom for the seller to take off his sandal and give it to the buyer. In this way the Israelites showed that the matter was settled. (8) So when the man said to Boaz, "You buy it," he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz. (9) Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the others there, "You are all witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech and to his sons Chilion and Mahlon. (10) In addition, Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon's widow, becomes my wife. This will keep the property in the dead man's family, and his family line will continue among his people and in his hometown. You are witnesses to this today." (11) The leaders and the others said, "Yes, we are witnesses. May the LORD make your wife become like Rachel and Leah, who bore many children to Jacob. May you become rich in the clan of Ephrath and famous in Bethlehem. (12) May the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman make your family like the family of Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar." (13) So Boaz took Ruth home as his wife. The LORD blessed her, and she became pregnant and had a son. (14) The women said to Naomi, "Praise the LORD ( יהוה )! He has given you a grandson today to take care of you. May the boy become famous in Israel! (15) Your daughter-in-law loves you, and has done more for you than seven sons. And now she has given you a grandson, who will bring new life to you and give you security in your old age." (16) Naomi took the child, held him close, and took care of him. (17) The women of the neighborhood named the boy Obed. They told everyone, "A son has been born to Naomi!" Obed became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. (18) This is the family line from Perez to David: Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David. (19) (SEE 4:18) (20) (SEE 4:18) (21) (SEE 4:18) (22) (SEE 4:18)
Use browser "Back Arrow" or "Alt + Left_Arrow" keys to previous page. | Home
You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals. The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
Bishops - 1568 Bishop's Bible
Calvin - 1856 by Calvin Translation Society
CEV - Contemporary English Version
Coverdale - 1535 Miles Coverdale Bible
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
ESV - English Standard Version
GNB - Good News Bible
GW - God's Word Bible
ISV - International Standard Version
KJV - 1769 King James Version
KJV-1611 - Old King James Version from 1611
LitNT - Literal New Testament
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
MKJV - 1962 Modern King James Version
Murdock - 1851 James Murdock New Testament
MWT - Modern World Translation
NWT - New World Translation
RV - Revised Version
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
WTNT - 1525-26 William Tyndale New Testament
Wycliffe - 1394 Wycliffe Bible
YLT - 1862/1898 Young's Literal Translation
Scripture Reference Window Browser "Back" or "Alt+Left_Arrow" to return.
