Ruth 1:19-2:13

New International Version

¹⁹So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.^(A) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred^(B) because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰“Don’t call me Naomi,^[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,^[b] because the Almighty^[c]^(C) has made my life very bitter.^(D) ²¹I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.^(E) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted^[d] me;^(F) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

²²So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,^(G) her daughter-in-law,^(H) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest^(I) was beginning.^(J)

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

2 Now Naomi had a relative^(K) on her husband’s side, a man of standing^(L) from the clan of Elimelek,^(M) whose name was Boaz.^(N)

²And Ruth the Moabite^(O) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain^(P) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.^(Q)”

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.^(R) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.^(S)

⁴Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!^(T)”

“The Lord bless you!^(U)” they answered.

⁵Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

⁶The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite^(V) who came back from Moab with Naomi. ⁷She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves^(W) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest^(X) in the shelter.”

⁸So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. ⁹Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

¹⁰At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.^(Y) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me^(Z)—a foreigner?^(AA)”

¹¹Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law^(AB) since the death of your husband^(AC)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know^(AD) before.^(AE) ¹²May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,^(AF) the God of Israel,^(AG) under whose wings^(AH) you have come to take refuge.^(AI)”

¹³“May I continue to find favor in your eyes,^(AJ) my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”