Ruth 4:4 is Boaz speaking to a closer relative at the city gate, telling him about a field that belonged to Naomi’s late husband and offering him first chance to buy it. Boaz is laying out the choice plainly: if the man wants to redeem the land, he should do so, and if not, Boaz will take it up himself. The verse is Boaz’s words, spoken to the nearest kinsman who had the first legal right to act.
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 he thought the man should know about the matter, which shows he is being straightforward rather than trying to slip something past him. He asks that the purchase be made in front of the witnesses seated at the gate and the elders of the community, so that the transaction is public and beyond dispute. The phrase about redeeming refers to buying back family property so it stays within the family line.
The verse then gives the kinsman a clear choice. If he wants to redeem the field, he should say so; if he does not, he should say that too, so Boaz knows where things stand. Boaz adds that no one else has the right to redeem the land ahead of the two of them, which is why he is asking directly. The verse does not promise the kinsman anything, and it does not settle the outcome. It simply lays out the situation and asks for an honest answer.
The Context of Ruth 4:4
The Book of Ruth is a short narrative set in the period of the judges, and it is traditionally attributed to Samuel, though the author is not named in the text itself. It was written for an Israelite audience who understood the family and land customs behind the story, which were built around keeping ancestral property within a clan. Ruth 4:1 to 7 describes the scene at the city gate, the place where legal business was conducted, with ten elders called to witness the matter.
Just before this verse, Boaz has brought the kinsman into the public setting and explained that Naomi is selling the land that belonged to her husband’s family. Just after it, the kinsman agrees to redeem the field, but then withdraws when he learns that marrying Ruth the Moabitess would also be part of the deal, and he gives up his right to Boaz. Read in that light, Ruth 4:4 is the moment the whole legal question is put on the table, and it shows Boaz acting openly and fairly in a matter that could easily have gone another way.
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 law of redemption that stands behind the scene at the gate. It explains that when a family member fell into poverty and sold land, a close relative had the right to buy it back, which is exactly the principle Boaz is invoking in Ruth 4:4.
Ruth 4:9-10
9 Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, “You are witnesses today, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”
(WEB)
These verses follow the kinsman’s withdrawal and show Boaz making his own public declaration before the witnesses. Reading them alongside Ruth 4:4 shows how the matter moves from an open question to a settled, witnessed act.
A Short Prayer From Ruth 4:4
Lord, you see the places in my life where I am tempted to avoid responsibility or to keep quiet when I should speak plainly. Help me to deal honestly with the people around me, to name the facts clearly and to respect their freedom to decide. Give me the courage to act openly and the humility to accept the outcome, trusting that you are faithful in every matter that comes before you. Amen.
