Bible (YLT) 08: Ruth

Among the Bible's most tender narratives, the Book of Ruth tells of a Moabite woman's extraordinary loyalty and the redemption she finds in Bethlehem. When her husband dies, Ruth refuses to abandon her Hebrew mother-in-law Naomi, declaring her famous vow: 'Whither thou goest, I will go.' Gleaning in the fields of the kind farmer Boaz, she catches his attention, and through the ancient custom of kinship redemption, she becomes his wife. Their son Obed will father Jesse, who fathers David. What unfolds in just four chapters is both intimate family drama and sweeping salvation history: a foreigner integrated into the lineage of Christ, and a story about how steadfast love and faithfulness can transform desperation into dynasty. Young's Literal Translation renders the Hebrew with meticulous precision, preserving the vivid particularity of the original words.