surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry! Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! No, my daughters, you must not return with me. For my intense suffering is too much for you to bear. For the Lord is afflicting me!"

Boaz asked his servant in charge of the harvesters, "To whom does this young woman belong?"

The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, "She's the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab.

He 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.

May your family become like the family of Perez -- whom Tamar bore to Judah -- through the descendants the Lord gives you by this young woman."