Ruth 4:6 (GNV)

Passage

And the kinsman answered, I can not redeeme it, lest I destroy mine owne inheritance: redeeme my right to thee, for I can not redeeme it.

Nearby Context

Ruth 4:4 And I thought to aduertise thee, saying, Buy it before the assistants, and before the Elders of my people. If thou wilt redeeme it, redeeme it: but if thou wilt not redeeme it, tel me: for I know that there is none besides thee to redeeme it, and I am after thee. Then he answered, I wil redeeme it.

Ruth 4:5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou mnst also buy it of Ruth the Moabitesse the wife of the dead, to stirre vp the name of the dead, vpon his inheritance.

Ruth 4:6 And the kinsman answered, I can not redeeme it, lest I destroy mine owne inheritance: redeeme my right to thee, for I can not redeeme it.

Ruth 4:7 Now this was the maner beforetime in Israel, concerning redeeming and changing, for to stablish all things: a man did plucke off his shooe, and gaue it his neighbour, and this was a sure witnes in Israel.

Ruth 4:8 Therefore the kinsman sayd to Boas, Buy it for thee: and he drew off his shooe.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "kinsman", "answered", "redeeme", "lest", "destroy", "mine", "owne", and "inheritance". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "kinsman" and "answered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Then said Boaz What day thou buyest..." into verse 7's "Now this was the maner beforetime in...", so "kinsman" and "answered" 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 "kinsman" and "answered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.