Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

2 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)

² 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.” ³ 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)

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

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

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

⁶ The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite^(L) who came back from Moab with Naomi. ⁷ 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.”

⁸ 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. ⁹ 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.

On to Jerusalem

21 After we^(A) had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ² We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,^(B) went on board and set sail. ³ After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria.^(C) We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ We sought out the disciples^(D) there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit^(E) they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.^{(F) 6} After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ We continued our voyage from Tyre^(G) and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters^(H) and stayed with them for a day. ⁸ Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea^(I) and stayed at the house of Philip^(J) the evangelist,^(K) one of the Seven. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.^(L)

¹⁰ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus^(M) came down from Judea. ¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says,^(N) ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind^(O) the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”^(P)

¹² When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die^(Q) in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”^{(R) 14} When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up^(S) and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”^(T)

¹⁵ After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.^{(U) 16} Some of the disciples from Caesarea^(V) accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus^(W) and one of the early disciples.

Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem

¹⁷ When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters^(X) received us warmly.^{(Y) 18} The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,^(Z) and all the elders^(AA) were present. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles^(AB) through his ministry.^(AC)

²⁰ When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous^(AD) for the law.^{(AE) 21} They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,^(AF) telling them not to circumcise their children^(AG) or live according to our customs.^{(AH) 22} What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, ²³ so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.^{(AI) 24} Take these men, join in their purification rites^(AJ) and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.^(AK) Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. ²⁵ As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”^(AL)

²⁶ The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.^(AM)