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
Ruth 2
International Standard Version
Boaz Meets Ruth
2 Naomi had a close relative of her late[a] husband, a man of considerable wealth from the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.
2 Ruth the Moabite told Naomi, “Please allow me to go out to the fields and glean grain behind anyone who shows me kindness.”
So Naomi replied, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
3 So she went out, proceeded to the field, and gleaned behind the harvesters. And it happened that she came to the portion of land belonging to Boaz, of the family of Elimelech.
4 Now when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he told the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.”
“May the Lord bless you!” they replied.
5 At this point, Boaz asked the foreman of[b] his harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”
6 The foreman of[c] the harvesters answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She asked us, ‘Please allow me to glean what’s left of the grain behind the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued working[d] from dawn until now, except for a short time in a shelter.”
Boaz Shows Kindness to Ruth
8 Boaz then addressed Ruth: “Listen, my daughter![e] Don’t glean in any other field. Don’t even leave this one, and be sure to stay close to my women servants. 9 Keep your eyes on the field where they are harvesting, and follow them. I’ve ordered my young men not to bother[f] you, haven’t I? And when you are thirsty, drink from the water vessels that the young men have filled.”
10 At this she fell prostrate, bowing low to the ground, and asked him, “Why is it that you’re showing me kindness by noticing me, since I’m a foreigner?”
11 Boaz answered her, “It has been clearly disclosed to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband—how you left your father, your mother, and your own land behind, and came to a people you did not previously know. 12 May the Lord repay you for your work, and may a full reward be given you from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings[g] you have come for refuge.”
13 She responded, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, sir, since you’ve been comforting me and you have spoken graciously to[h] your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”
14 At lunchtime, Boaz invited her, “Come on over, have some food, and dip your bread in our oil and[i] vinegar.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he handed her some roasted grain, which she ate until she was satisfied. She kept what was left over.
Boaz the Benefactor
15 After she had left to glean, Boaz commanded his servants,[j] “Allow her to glean also among the cut sheaves, and don’t taunt her. 16 One other thing[k]—drop some handfuls[l] deliberately, leaving them for her so she can gather it. And don’t bother her.” 17 So Ruth[m] gathered grain out in the field until dusk, and then threshed what she had gathered—about a week’s supply[n] of barley. 18 She picked up her grain[o] and went back to town.
Her mother-in-law noticed how much Ruth[p] had gleaned and had brought back from what was left over from her lunch. 19 So her mother-in-law quizzed her, “Where did you glean today? Where, precisely, did you work? May the one who took notice of you be blessed.”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 Naomi replied, “May the one who hasn’t abandoned his gracious love to the living or to the dead be blessed by the Lord.” Naomi added, “This man is closely related to us, our related redeemer,[q] as a matter of fact!”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite woman added, “He also told me ‘Stay close to my young men until they have completed my entire harvest.’”
22 Naomi responded to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is prudent, my daughter, for you to go out with his women servants, so someone won’t attack you in another field.” 23 So Ruth[r] continued to stay close to the young women who worked for Boaz, gathering grain until both the barley and wheat harvests were complete, all the while living with her mother-in-law.
Footnotes
- Ruth 2:1 The Heb. lacks late
- Ruth 2:5 Or the young man over
- Ruth 2:6 Or The young man over
- Ruth 2:7 The Heb. lacks working
- Ruth 2:8 Lit. Will you not listen, my daughter?
- Ruth 2:9 Or touch
- Ruth 2:12 Or garment; cf. 3:9
- Ruth 2:13 Lit. spoken to the heart of
- Ruth 2:14 The Heb. lacks oil and
- Ruth 2:15 Or young men
- Ruth 2:16 Lit. her. 16 Also
- Ruth 2:16 Or portions
- Ruth 2:17 Lit. she
- Ruth 2:17 Lit. an ephah; i.e. enough to support Naomi and Ruth for at least five or six days
- Ruth 2:18 The Heb. lacks her grain
- Ruth 2:18 Lit. she
- Ruth 2:20 I.e. a close male relative responsible to redeem inheritances (Lev. 25:25), to free relatives from indentured servitude (Lev. 25:47-55), to avenge deaths (Deut. 19:1-13), and to financially support, care for, and (in certain limited cases) to marry a widow related to him (Deut. 25:5-10); and so throughout the book
- Ruth 2:23 Lit. she
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