Ruth 2
Expanded Bible
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 Now Naomi had a ·rich [or influential; L man of great wealth/standing] relative named Boaz, from Elimelech’s ·family [clan].
2 One day Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, “[L Please] Let me go to the fields. Maybe someone ·will be kind enough to [L in whose eyes/sight I find grace/favor will] let me ·gather the grain he leaves behind [L glean among the sheaves/bundles; Deut. 24:21–22].”
Naomi said, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So Ruth went ·to the fields and gathered the grain that the workers cutting the grain had left behind [L and gleaned in the field behind the reapers/harvesters]. It just so happened that the field belonged to Boaz, from Elimelech’s ·family [clan; C a chance event from Ruth’s perspective, but part of God’s plan].
4 ·Soon [or Just then; L And look/T behold] Boaz came from Bethlehem and greeted his ·workers [reapers; harvesters], “The Lord be with you!”
And the workers answered, “May the Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz asked his ·servant [young man; foreman] in charge of the ·workers [reapers; harvesters], “·Whose girl is that [To whom does that young woman belong; C referring, in this patriarchal culture, to her husband or father]?”
6 The ·servant [young man; foreman] answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the ·country [land] of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me follow the ·workers cutting grain [reapers; harvesters] and ·gather what they leave behind [L glean among the sheaves/bundles].’ She came and has remained here, from morning until just now. She ·has stopped only a few moments [or just now stopped for a moment] to rest in the ·shelter [hut; house].”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “·Listen [L Have you not heard…?], my daughter. Don’t go to ·gather grain for yourself [glean] in another field. Don’t even leave this field at all, but ·continue following closely behind [stay close to; cling to] my ·women workers [servant girls; young women]. 9 Watch to see into which fields ·they [the men reaping; C the Hebrew pronoun is masculine] go to ·cut grain [reap] and follow ·them [the women gathering; C the Hebrew pronoun is feminine]. I ·have warned [or will warn] the young men not to ·bother [harass; touch] you. When you are thirsty, you may go and drink from the water jugs that the young men have ·filled [L drawn (from the well)].”
10 Then Ruth bowed low with her face to the ground and said to him, “I am ·not an Israelite [L a foreigner]. Why have ·you been so kind to notice me [L I found favor/grace in your eyes]?”
11 Boaz answered her, “I ·know [have been fully informed] about all ·the help you have given [that you have done for] your mother-in-law after your husband died. You left your father and mother and your ·own country [native land] to come to a ·nation [people] where you did not know anyone. 12 May the Lord reward you for all you have done. May your wages be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for shelter [C like a protective mother bird].”
13 Then Ruth said, “·I hope I can continue to please you [May I continue to find grace/favor in your eyes; or I have found favor/grace in your eyes], ·sir [my lord]. [L Because] You have ·said kind and encouraging words to [L comforted and spoken to the heart of] me, your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
14 At mealtime Boaz told Ruth, “Come here. Eat some of our bread and dip it in ·our sauce [the vinegar/wine-vinegar].”
So Ruth sat down beside the ·workers [reapers; harvesters]. Boaz ·handed [offered; served] her some roasted grain, and she ate until she was ·full [satisfied]; she even had some food left over. 15 When Ruth rose and went back to work, Boaz commanded his ·workers [young men], “Let her ·gather [glean] even around the ·piles of cut grain [sheaves]. Don’t ·tell her to go away [reprimand/insult/humiliate her]. 16 In fact, pull out some full heads of grain for her from the bundles and let her gather them. Don’t ·tell her to stop [rebuke/scold her].”
17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she ·separated the grain from the chaff [threshed/beat out what she had gleaned], and there was about ·one-half bushel [L an ephah; C about 30 pounds] of barley. 18 Ruth carried the grain into town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had ·gathered [gleaned]. Ruth also took out the food that was left over ·from lunch [L after she was full/satisfied] and gave it to Naomi.
19 ·Naomi [L Her mother-in-law] asked her, “Where did you ·gather all this grain [glean] today? Where did you work? Blessed be whoever noticed you!”
Ruth told her mother-in-law in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “The Lord bless him! ·He continues to be kind to us—both [L …who has not abandoned] the living and the dead!” Then Naomi told Ruth, “Boaz is one of our close relatives, one ·who should take care of us [of our guardians/T kinsmen-redeemers; C a relative who would care for a bereaved family in various ways: looking after destitute members (Lev. 25:35); avenging a murdered relative (Num. 35:19); marrying a sister-in-law to raise up children for her deceased husband (Deut. 25:5–10; called “levirate” marriage); buying back family land (Lev. 25:25) or redeeming family members who had been sold as slaves (Lev. 25:47–49)].”
21 Then Ruth, the Moabite, said, “Boaz ·also [even] told me, ‘Keep close to my ·workers [young men] until they have finished my whole harvest.’”
22 But Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is better for you to continue working with his ·women workers [female servants; young women]. If you work in another field, someone might ·hurt [harm; or harass] you.” 23 So Ruth continued working closely with the ·workers [female workers; young women] of Boaz, gathering grain until the barley harvest [C March-April] and the wheat harvest [C April-May] were finished. And she continued to live with Naomi, her mother-in-law.
Ruth 2
New American Standard Bible
Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field
2 Now Naomi had [a]a relative of her husband, a [b]man of great wealth, of the family of (A)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and (B)glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and [c]she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “(C)May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was [d]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant [e]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “[f]Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here. 9 Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the [g]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” 10 Then she (D)fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12 (E)May the Lord reward your [h]work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken [i]kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants.”
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “[j]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied (G)and had some left. 15 When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [k]insult her. 16 Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an [l]ephah of barley. 18 And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and (H)gave [m]Naomi what she had left after [n]she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who (I)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “(J)May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative; he is one of our (K)redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “[o]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until (L)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Footnotes
- Ruth 2:1 Another reading is an acquaintance
- Ruth 2:1 Or mighty, valiant man
- Ruth 2:3 Lit her chance chanced upon
- Ruth 2:5 Lit appointed over
- Ruth 2:6 Lit who was appointed over
- Ruth 2:8 Lit Have you not heard
- Ruth 2:9 Lit vessels
- Ruth 2:12 Or behavior
- Ruth 2:13 Lit to the heart of your
- Ruth 2:14 Lit Come near here
- Ruth 2:15 Or harm
- Ruth 2:17 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
- Ruth 2:18 Lit her
- Ruth 2:18 Lit her satiety
- Ruth 2:21 Lit Also that
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