Ruth 3

¹Forsothe aftir that Ruth turnede ayen to hir modir in lawe, Ruth herde of hir, My douytir, Y schal seke reste to thee, and Y schal purueye that it be wel to thee.

²This Booz, to whose damesels thou were ioyned in the feeld, is oure kynesman, and in this niyt he wyndewith the corn floor of barli.

³Therfor be thou waischun, and anoyntid, and be thou clothid with onestere clothis, and go doun in to the corn floor; the man, `that is, Booz, se not thee, til he haue endid the mete and drynke.

⁴Forsothe whanne he goth to slepe, marke thou the place `in which he slepith; and thou schalt come and vnhile the cloth, `with which he is hilid, fro the part of the feet, and thou schalt caste thee doun, and thou schalt ly there. Forsothe he schal seie to thee, what thou `owist to do.

⁵Which answeride, What euer thing thou comaundist, Y schal do.

⁶And sche yede doun in to the corn floor, and dide alle thingis whiche hir modir in lawe comaundide to hir.

⁷And whanne Booz hadde ete and drunke, and was maad gladere, and hadde go to slepe bisidis the `heep of handfuls, sche cam, and hidde hir silf; and whanne the cloth was vnhilid fro `hise feet, sche castide doun hir silf.

⁸And lo! now at mydnyyt `the man dredde, and was troblid; and he siy a womman lyggynge at hise feet;

⁹and he seide to hir, Who art thou? Sche answeride, Y am Ruth, thin handmayde; stretche forth thi cloth on thi seruauntesse, for thou art nyy of kyn.

¹⁰And he seide, Douytir, thou art blessid of the Lord, and thou hast ouercome the formere mercy with the lattere; for thou `suedist not yonge men, pore ethir riche.

¹¹Therfor `nyle thou drede, but what euer thing thou schalt seie to me, Y schal do to thee; for al the puple that dwellith with ynne the yatis of my cytee woot, that thou art a womman of vertu.

¹²And Y forsake not, that Y am of nyy kyn, but another man is neer than Y;

¹³reste thou in this nyyt, and whanne the morewtid is maad, if he wole holde thee bi riyt of nyy kyn, the thing is wel doon; forsothe if he nyle, Y schal take thee with outen ony doute, the Lord lyueth, `that is, bi the Lord lyuynge; slepe thou til the morewtid.

¹⁴Therfore sche slepte at `hise feet til to the goyng awey of nyyt, and so sche roos bifor that men knewen `hem silf togidere. And Booz seide to hir, Be thou war lest ony man knowe, that thou camest hidir.

¹⁵And eft he seide, Stretche forth thi mentil `with which thou `art hilid, and holde thou with euer either hond. And while sche stretchide forth and helde, he mete sixe buyschels of barly, and `puttide on hir; and sche bar, and entride in to the citee,

¹⁶and cam to hir modir in lawe. Which seide to Ruth, What hast thou do, douyter? And Ruth telde to hir alle thingis, whyche `the man hadde do to hir.

¹⁷And Ruth seide, Lo! he yaf to me sixe buyschels of barly; and he seide, Y nyle that thou turne ayen voide to thi modir in lawe.

¹⁸And Noemy seide, Abide, douytir, til we sien what issu the thing schal haue; for the man schal not ceesse, no but he fille tho thingis whiche he spak.

Ruth 3

¹Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

²And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

³Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

⁴And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

⁵And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

⁶And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.

⁷And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

⁸And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

⁹And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

¹⁰And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

¹¹And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

¹²And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

¹³Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.

¹⁴And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

¹⁵Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.

¹⁶And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

¹⁷And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.

¹⁸Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.