Ruth 4:9 (DRB)

Passage

And he said to the ancients, and to all the people: You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and Chelion's, and Mahalon's, of the hand of Noemi:

Nearby Context

Ruth 4:7 Now this in former times was the manner in Israel between kinsmen, that if at any time one yielded his right to another: that the grant might be sure, the man put off his shoe and gave it to his neighbour; this was a testimony of cession of right in Israel.

Ruth 4:8 So Booz said to his kinsman: Put off thy shoe. And immediately he took it off from his foot.

Ruth 4:9 And he said to the ancients, and to all the people: You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and Chelion's, and Mahalon's, of the hand of Noemi:

Ruth 4:10 And have taken to wife Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of Mahalon, to raise up the name of the deceased in his inheritance lest his name be cut off, from among his family and his brethren and his people. You, I say, are witnesses of this thing.

Ruth 4:11 Then all the people that were in the gate, and the ancients, answered: We are witnesses: The Lord make this woman who cometh into thy house, like Rachel, and Lia, who built up the house of Israel: that she may be an example of virtue in Ephrata, and may have a famous name in Bethlehem:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "ancients", "people", "witnesses", "bought", "elimelech's", "chelion's", and "mahalon's". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "ancients", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "So Booz said to his kinsman Put..." into verse 10's "And have taken to wife Ruth the...", so "said" and "ancients" belong inside that flow. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "ancients" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.