Ruth, a woman from Moab, was living in Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi. She asked to gather grain left behind by the harvesters, a practice called gleaning. Naomi agreed, and Ruth happened to enter the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi's late husband Elimelech.
Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted his workers with a blessing. He asked who Ruth was. The overseer said she had returned from Moab with Naomi and had worked steadily since morning, with only a short rest. Boaz told Ruth to stay with his women workers rather than go elsewhere. He had ordered the men not to trouble her and invited her to drink the water they had drawn.
Ruth asked why he was kind to a foreign woman. Boaz said he had heard how she cared for Naomi after her own husband's death and left her parents and homeland to join people she had not known. He prayed that God would reward her for seeking his protection. At mealtime, he gave her bread and roasted grain. He also told the workers to leave stalks for her deliberately and not rebuke her.
By evening Ruth had gathered about an ephah of barley, an ancient measure of grain. She took it and her leftover food to Naomi. On hearing Boaz's name, Naomi said he was one of their family redeemers: a relative who could recover family property and help preserve the family line. Ruth continued working in his field through the barley and wheat harvests and lived with Naomi.
Naomi wanted Ruth to have a secure home. She told Ruth to wash, put on oil and clothes, and go to the threshing floor, where harvested grain was separated and cleaned. After Boaz had eaten and lain down, Ruth was to uncover his feet and lie there. At midnight he woke and asked who she was. Ruth identified herself and asked him to spread his garment over her because he was a family redeemer.
Boaz praised Ruth for not pursuing younger men and said the town knew she was a worthy woman. But another relative had the first right to take responsibility. Boaz promised to do so if that man declined. Before Ruth left at dawn, he gave her six measures of barley so she would not return to Naomi empty-handed. Naomi told Ruth to wait, saying Boaz would settle the matter that day.
At the town gate, Boaz gathered the nearer relative and ten elders. He offered the man the first right to buy Elimelech's land from Naomi. When the man agreed, Boaz explained that this also involved marrying Ruth, Mahlon's widow, to preserve the dead man's name with his property. The man declined because he feared harming his own inheritance. He handed over his sandal to confirm the transfer. Boaz announced that he was acquiring the property of Elimelech, Chilion and Mahlon and would marry Ruth.
The witnesses blessed the new household, comparing Ruth with Israel's ancestors Rachel and Leah and Boaz's household with that of Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar. Boaz married Ruth, and God enabled her to bear a son. The women praised God and said the child would renew Naomi's life and care for her in old age. They said Ruth, who loved Naomi, was better to her than seven sons. Naomi cared for the child, whom the neighbors named Obed. His son was Jesse, and Jesse's son was David. The closing genealogy runs from Perez through Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed and Jesse to David.