Ruth 4

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¹Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. ✦ ²Then he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ✦ ³And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ✦ ⁴So I thought that I would inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me so that I may know; for there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ✦ ⁵Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ✦ ⁶Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.” ✦ ⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel. ✦ ⁸So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ✦ ¹⁰Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ✦ ¹¹And all the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. ✦ ¹²Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the descendants whom the Lord will give you by this young woman.” ✦ ¹³So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ✦ ¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. ✦ ¹⁵May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” ✦ ¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. ✦ ¹⁸Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, ✦ ¹⁹Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, ✦ ²⁰and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, ✦ ²¹and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, ✦ ²²and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Matt 1 ·7 Deut 25 ·5 Luke 3 ·5 1 Chr 2 ·5 Gen 29 ·5 Ruth 3 ·4 Jer 32 ·3 Ruth 4 ·3

Christ at the center

Boaz the kinsman-redeemer who buys back the destitute and takes a bride foreshadows Christ, our Redeemer who pays the price to make a people his own; and from Ruth's line comes David, and David's greater Son.

How Ruth 4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Ruth videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Ruth 4YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Ruth 4David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on RuthMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Ruth 4Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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