1THEN Boaz went up to the city gate and sat down there; and behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken was passing by; and Boaz said to him, Come, sit down here. And the man said to him, What do you wish? And he sat down by him.
2And Boaz selected ten men of the elders of the city, and seated them by him.
3And he said to the near kinsman, Naomi is selling to me the parcel of land which belonged to our brother Elimeleck;
4And I thought to let you know, and say to you, Buy it in the presence of those who are seated, for I am ready to speak and to purchase it in the presence of the elders of my people who are seated. And now, if you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know that you will not redeem it; then I will redeem it. And he said, I will redeem it.
5Then Boaz said, On the day you buy the field from Naomi and from Ruth, the Moabitess, the widow of the dead, you must buy it with the intention of raising the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
6And the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I damage my own inheritance; you can redeem it yourself; because of my lack of confidence in this transaction I cannot redeem it. 7Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and the exchanging of rights to redeem which confirmed transactions: a man pulled off his shoe and gave it to another; and this was the testimonial ceremony in Israel. 8Therefore the near kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself. And he took off his shoe. 9And Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that belonged to Elimeleck, and all that belonged to Malion and Calion, from the hand of Naomi. 10Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Malion, have I taken to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off and his remembrance may not be forgotten among his brethren and his family; you are witnesses this day. 11And all the people and the elders that were at the city gate, answered, saying, We are witnesses. And they blessed him, and said to him. May the LORD make this woman who is in your presence like Rachel and like Leah, for both of them built up the house of Israel; and may you do worthily in Ephratah, and call its name Beth-lehem. 12And let your house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, and may the LORD give you an offspring from this woman. 13So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15And he shall be to you a comforter of your soul and a nourisher to your city; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has borne him. 16And Naomi took the child, and laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to him. 17And the women who were her neighbors said, A son has been born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19And Hezron begat Aram, and Aram begat Amminadab, 20And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Shelah, 21And Shelah begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat King David. Holy Bible From The Ancient Eastern Texts: Aramaic Of The Peshitta by George M. Lamsa (1933) |