he sent messengers to them, saying, “May the Lord bless you, because you demonstrated your loyal love to Saul your master, and you buried him properly.
You only just got here, so why should I make you wander around with us now when I don't even know where I am going? Go back and take your men with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”
he retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had taken them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had killed Saul at Gilboa.
“Our lives for yours!” the men told her. “If you don't tell anyone about this, we will treat you honestly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
Then they asked, “Which one of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord at Mizpah?” They found out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly,
However, as they left, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you, go back to your mother's homes, and may the Lord be as kind to you as you have been to me, and to those who have died.
“The Lord bless him!” Naomi exclaimed to her daughter-in-law. “He goes on showing his kindness to the living and the dead. That man is a close relative to us—a ‘family redeemer.’”
“May the Lord bless you, my daughter,” he said. “You are showing even more loyalty and love to the family than before. You haven't gone looking for a younger man, of whatever social status.
Nahash the Ammonite came with his army and besieged Jabesh-gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to him, “Make a peace treaty with us, and we will be your subjects.”
They said to the messengers who came, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow you'll be rescued, by the time the sun is hot.’” The people of Jabesh were so happy when the messengers arrived and told them this.