Ruth 4:4 is Boaz telling a nearer relative that Naomi is selling a piece of family land, and that this relative has the first right to buy it back for the family. Boaz is asking him to decide in front of witnesses, and if he refuses, Boaz will take the duty himself. The words are spoken by Boaz at the city gate to an unnamed kinsman, with ten elders sitting as witnesses.
I thought I should tell you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem it besides you; and I am after you.” He said, “I will redeem it.”
Ruth 4:4 (WEB)
What Ruth 4:4 Means
Boaz begins by saying “I thought I should tell you,” which makes the message sound like a courtesy, but it is a formal notice. He then asks the man to “buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.” The purchase is to be made openly, so that everyone present can see it done properly and no one can later dispute it.
The heart of the verse is the phrase about redemption. The word translated “redeem” describes a relative stepping in to restore what has been lost in the family, whether land, freedom or a name. Boaz gives the man a clear choice: buy it, or say so plainly so that Boaz can act. He says that there is “no one to redeem it besides you” and that he himself is next in line, which means the matter is urgent and cannot be left vague.
The verse does not promise that the man will act or that the outcome will be easy. It describes a legal and family obligation and a moment of decision. What it shows is a community that takes responsibility for one another’s losses and does so in the open.
The Context of Ruth 4:4
The book of Ruth is traditionally attributed to an unknown author and is set in the period of the judges, when Israel had no king. Its original audience would have known the customs of land and family inheritance well, so the story was told to people who understood why a kinsman’s rights mattered. The book moves from famine and loss in Moab to a settled household in Bethlehem, and Ruth 4 is where that movement reaches its legal resolution.
Just before verse 4, the narrator shows Boaz gathering the elders and waiting for the nearer relative to appear, so the gate scene is a deliberate public process. The verses that follow show the other kinsman backing away and Boaz taking the role, and the closing note in verse 7 explains the old custom of exchanging a shoe to confirm a transaction. Read in that setting, verse 4 is the hinge that makes the whole legal proceeding possible.
Key Phrases in Ruth 4:4
Leviticus 25:25
“‘If your brother becomes poor, and sells some of his possessions, then his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which his brother has sold.
(WEB)
This verse sets out the original law that a near relative should redeem land a family has been forced to sell. It explains the reason behind Boaz’s words, showing that the duty was rooted in Israel’s commitment to keep family property within the family.
Ruth 4:7
Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of formalizing transactions in Israel.
(WEB)
This verse describes the custom of the shoe, which confirmed the transaction. Read alongside Ruth 4:4, it shows how the public process moved from the offer at the gate to a formal conclusion that everyone could recognize.
A Short Prayer From Ruth 4:4
Lord, you see the losses that families carry, the land and the names and the futures that can slip away quietly. Thank you that you are a God who cares about restoring what has been lost. Give me the courage to speak up when someone I love needs help, and the honesty to say clearly what I can and cannot do. Help me to act openly and with integrity, so that others can trust me and see your faithfulness reflected in ordinary decisions. Amen.
