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Ruth Gathers Grain in the Field of Boaz

Naomi had a relative. He was from Elimelech’s side of the family. He was a man of outstanding character named Boaz.

Ruth, who was from Moab, said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field of anyone who will be kind to me. There I will gather the grain left behind by the reapers.”

Naomi told her, “Go, my daughter.”

So Ruth went. She entered a field and gathered the grain left behind by the reapers. Now it happened that she ended up in the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.

Just then, Boaz was coming from Bethlehem, and he said to his reapers, “May Yahweh be with all of you!”

They answered him, “May Yahweh bless you!”

Boaz asked the young man in charge of his reapers, “Who is this young woman?”

The young man answered, “She’s a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me gather grain. I will only gather among the bundles behind the reapers.’ So she came here and has been on her feet from daybreak until now. She just sat down this minute in the shelter.”

Boaz Speaks with Ruth

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go in any other field to gather grain, and don’t even leave this one. Stay here with my young women. Watch where my men are reaping, and follow the young women in that field. I have ordered my young men not to touch you. When you’re thirsty, go to the jars and drink some of the water that the young men have drawn.”

10 Ruth immediately bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so helpful? Why are you paying attention to me? I’m only a foreigner.”

11 Boaz answered her, “People have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband died. They told me how you left your father and mother and the country where you were born. They also told me how you came to people that you didn’t know before. 12 May Yahweh reward you for what you have done! May you receive a rich reward from Yahweh Elohim of Israel, under whose protection you have come for shelter.”

13 Ruth replied, “Sir, may your kindness to me continue. You have comforted me and reassured me, and I’m not even one of your own servants.”

14 When it was time to eat, Boaz told her, “Come here. Have some bread, and dip it into the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.

15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her gather grain even among the bundles. Don’t give her any problems. 16 Even pull some grain out of the bundles and leave it for her to gather. Don’t give her a hard time about it.”

Ruth and Naomi Talk about Boaz

17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the grain from its husks. She had about half a bushel of barley. 18 She picked it up and went into the town, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also took out what she had left over from lunch and gave it to Naomi.

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? Just where did you work? May the man who paid attention to you be blessed.”

So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the person with whom she worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”

20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May Yahweh bless him. Yahweh hasn’t stopped being kind to people—living or dead.” Then Naomi told her, “That man is a relative of ours. He is a close relative, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”

21 Ruth, who was from Moab, told her, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my younger workers until they have finished the harvest.’”

22 Naomi told her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It’s a good idea, my daughter, that you go out to the fields with his young women. If you go to someone else’s field, you may be molested.”

23 So Ruth stayed with the young women who were working for Boaz. She gathered grain until both the barley harvest and the wheat harvest ended. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law.

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

Now Naomi had a relative(A) on her husband’s side, a man of standing(B) from the clan of Elimelek,(C) whose name was Boaz.(D)

And Ruth the Moabite(E) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain(F) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.(G)

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

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

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

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

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

So 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. Watch 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.”

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

11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law(R) since the death of your husband(S)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know(T) before.(U) 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,(V) the God of Israel,(W) under whose wings(X) you have come to take refuge.(Y)

13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,(Z) 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.”

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread(AA) and dip it in the wine vinegar.”

When she sat down with the harvesters,(AB) he offered her some roasted grain.(AC) She ate all she wanted and had some left over.(AD) 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves(AE) and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke(AF) her.”

17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed(AG) the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.[a](AH) 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over(AI) after she had eaten enough.

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!(AJ)

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.

20 “The Lord bless him!(AK)” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.(AL) “He has not stopped showing his kindness(AM) to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative;(AN) he is one of our guardian-redeemers.[b](AO)

21 Then Ruth the Moabite(AP) said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”

22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”

23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley(AQ) and wheat harvests(AR) were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:17 That is, probably about 30 pounds or about 13 kilograms
  2. Ruth 2:20 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55).