The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian ¹  today! May he ²  become famous in Israel! ³ 

“‘If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his near redeemer is to come to you and redeem what his brother sold. ¹ 

He said, “Who are you?” ¹  She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant. ²  Marry your servant, ³  for you are a guardian of the family interests.” ⁴ 

Now Boaz went up ¹  to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian ²  whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! ³  Boaz said, “Come ⁴  here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” ⁵  So he came ⁶  and sat down.

Then Boaz said to the guardian, ¹  “Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling ²  the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech.

The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance ¹  in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.” ² 

This same ¹  Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ ²  God sent as both ruler and deliverer ³  through the hand of the angel ⁴  who appeared to him in the bush.

“For a short time I abandoned ¹  you, but with great compassion I will gather you.

If a man has no redeemer, but he prospers ¹  and gains enough for its redemption, ² 

the Angel ¹  who has protected me ²  from all harm – bless these boys. May my name be named in them, ³  and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

He must calculate with the one who bought him the number of years ¹  from the year he sold himself to him until the jubilee year, and the cost of his sale must correspond to the number of years, according to the rate of wages a hired worker would have earned while with him. ² 

Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, ¹  fine, ²  let him do so. ³  But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. ⁴  Sleep here until morning.” ⁵ 

Then Boaz said, “When ¹  you acquire the field ²  from Naomi, ³  you must also ⁴  acquire Ruth the Moabite, ⁵  the wife of our deceased relative, ⁶  in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.” ⁷ 

So I am legally informing you: ¹  Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! ²  If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. ³  But if not, then tell me ⁴  so I will know. ⁵  For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” ⁶  He replied, “I will redeem it.”