Ruth 4:5 (LSB)

Passage

Then Boaz said, “On the day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the one who had died, in order to raise up the name of the one who had died, on behalf of his inheritance.”

Nearby Context

Ruth 4:3 Then he said to the kinsman redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the fields of Moab, has to sell the portion of the field which belonged to our brother Elimelech.

Ruth 4:4 So I thought to uncover this matter in your hearing, saying, ‘Acquire it before those who are sitting here and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if no one redeems it, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the one who had died, in order to raise up the name of the one who had died, on behalf of his inheritance.”

Ruth 4:6 So the kinsman redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

Ruth 4:7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the right of redemption and the exchange of land to establish any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "boaz", "said", "acquire", "field", "hand", "naomi", and "must". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "boaz" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "So I thought to uncover this matter..." into verse 6's "So the kinsman redeemer said I cannot...", so "boaz" and "said" 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 "boaz" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.