Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, "Go, and return each of you unto your mother's house. The LORD deal as kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me."

Then they cried and wept and said unto her, "We will go with thee unto thy folk."

But Naomi said, "Turn again my daughters: for what cause would you go with me? Think you that there be any more children in my bowels to be your husbands?

Turn again my daughters and go: for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, also if I took a man this night: yea, and though I had already borne sons?

Then she said, "See, thy sister-in-law is gone back again unto her people and unto her god: return thou after her."

But Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go. And where thou dwellest, there I will dwell. Thy people are my people, and thy God is my God.

And so they went both together until they came to Bethlehem. And when they were come to Bethlehem, it was noised through all the city, and the women said, "Is not this Naomi?"

But she said unto them, "Call me not Naomi: call me Mara, for the Almighty hath made me very bitter.

And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, "Let me go to the field and lease and gather ears, after whomsoever I find grace in his sight." And she said unto her, "Go, my daughter."

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the harvest men, "The LORD be with you." And they answered him, "The LORD bless thee."

Then said Boaz unto the young man that had the oversight of the harvest men, "Whose damsel is this?"

And the young man that was set to oversee the harvest men answered and said, "It is the Moabitish damsel that came with Naomi out of the country of Moab,

and she said, 'Let me, I pray thee, lease and gather after the harvest men, the ears that remain.' And so she came, and hath continued even from the morning unto now, and tarried not long in the house."

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, "Hearest thou my daughter: go to no other field to gather, neither go from hence; but abide by my maidens.

Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and said unto him, "How is that I have found grace in thine eyes, to know me, seeing I am an alien?"

And Boaz answered and said unto her, "All is told me that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband; how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land where thou wast born, and art come unto a nation which thou knewest not in time past.

Then she said unto him, "Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord, for thou hast comforted me and hast spoken heartily unto thy maid, which yet cannot be like unto one of thy maids."

And Boaz, when the time of refection was come, said unto her, "Come hither and eat of the bread, and dip thy sop in the vinegar." And she sat down by the reapers, and he reached her parched corn. And so she did eat and was sufficed, and left part.

And when she was risen up to gather, Boaz said to the young men, saying, "Let her gather the ears that remain and do her no despite.

Then said her mother-in-law unto her, "Where gatheredst thou today? And where wroughtest thou? Blessed be he that knew thee." And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought and said, "The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz."

Then said Naomi unto her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he, for he ceaseth not to do the same goodness to the dead that he did to the living." And Naomi said unto her, "The man is nigh unto us, even of our next kin."

And Ruth the Moabite said, "He bade me also that I should continue with his young men until they had ended all that harvest he hath."

Then said Naomi unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is best my daughter that thou go out with his maidens, and that no man meet thee in any other field."

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, "My daughter, I will seek rest for thee, that thou mayest be in better case.

And when Boaz had eaten and drunken and made him merry, he went and lay down by the side of the heap. And she came softly, and lift up the clothes of his feet, and laid her down.

Then he said, "What art thou?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, thine handmaid. Spread thy mantle over thine handmaid, for thou art the next of the kin."

And then he said, "Blessed be thou in the LORD my daughter, for thou hast showed more goodness in the latter end, than at the beginning; inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether they were poor or rich.

And so she lay at his feet until the morning. And she arose up before one could know another. And he said, "Let no man be aware, that there came any woman unto the threshing floor."

And he said, "Bring thy mantle that thou hadst upon thee and hold it up." And she held it up. And he mette in six measures of barley and laid it on her. And she gat her into the city,

and she came in to her mother-in-law, which said, "What tidings my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done to her.

And said thereto, "These six measures of barley gave he me and said, 'Thou shalt not go empty unto thy mother-in-law.'"

Then said she, "My daughter sit still, until thou know how the matter will chance. For the man will not be in rest until he have finished the matter this same day."

Then went Boaz unto the gate and sat him down there. And behold, the kinsman of which Boaz spake came by. Unto whom he said, "Come and sit down here, and called him by his name." And he turned in and sat down.

Then he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit ye down here." And they sat down.

Then he said unto the kinsman, "Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, will sell a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's.

Then said Boaz, "What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must take also Ruth the Moabite the wife of the dead, to stir up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."

Then said the kinsman, "I cannot purchase it for marrying of mine own inheritance: take thou my right to thee, for I cannot purchase it."

And the kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it thou": and so drew off his shoe.

Then said Boaz 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.

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 thine house like Rachel and Lea, which twain did build the house of Israel: that she may do virtuously in Ephrata, and be famous in Bethlehem,

and that thine house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, even of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman."

And the women said unto Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, the which hath not left thee without a heir this day that shall have a name in Israel,