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Ruth Gleans in Boaz’ Field

Now Naomi had [a]a kinsman of her husband, a [b]mighty man of excellence, of the family of (A)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and (B)glean among the ears of grain after one whom I may find favor in his eyes.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she went. And she came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And [c]it so happened that she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “(C)May Yahweh be with you.” And they said to him, “May Yahweh bless you.” Then Boaz said to his young man who was [d]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” The young man [e]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the fields of Moab. And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Have you not heard, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but [f]stay here with my young women. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the young men not to touch you. And if you are thirsty, go to the [g]water jars and drink from what the young men 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, though 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 told to me, and how you forsook 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 Yahweh fully repay your work, and may your wages be full from Yahweh, the God of Israel, (F)under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” 13 Then she said, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken to the heart of your servant-woman, though I am not like one of your servant-women.”

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “[h]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 [i]served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied (G)and had some left. 15 Then she rose to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not dishonor her. 16 Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and [j]leave it 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 [k]ephah of barley. 18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and (H)gave [l]Naomi what she had left after [m]she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you [n]work? May he who (I)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had [o]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 Yahweh who has not forsaken his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is [p]our relative; he is one of our kinsman redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “[q]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should [r]stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not oppress you in another field.” 23 So she [s]stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until (K)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:1 Or an acquaintance
  2. Ruth 2:1 Or mighty man of valor, cf. Judg 6:12; 11:1
  3. Ruth 2:3 Lit her chance chanced upon
  4. Ruth 2:5 Lit appointed over
  5. Ruth 2:6 Lit who was appointed over
  6. Ruth 2:8 Lit cling, cf. 1:14
  7. Ruth 2:9 Lit vessels
  8. Ruth 2:14 Lit Draw near
  9. Ruth 2:14 Lit held out to
  10. Ruth 2:16 Or forsake, cf. 1:16; 2:11, 20
  11. Ruth 2:17 An ephah was approx. 21 qt. or 23 l
  12. Ruth 2:18 Lit her
  13. Ruth 2:18 Lit her satiety
  14. Ruth 2:19 Lit do, cf. 1:8, 17; 2:11
  15. Ruth 2:19 Lit done, cf. 1:8, 17; 2:11
  16. Ruth 2:20 Lit near to us
  17. Ruth 2:21 Lit Also that
  18. Ruth 2:21 Lit cling, cf. 1:14; 2:8
  19. Ruth 2:23 Lit clung, cf. 1:14; 2:8, 21

Gleaning in Bethlehem

Now Naomi had a respected relative, a man of worth, through her husband from the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field so that I may glean among the ears of grain behind someone in whose eyes I might find favor.”

Naomi replied to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she went; she arrived and she gleaned in the field behind the harvesters. By chance, it happened to be the portion of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was from the family of Elimelech.

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He said to the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you.”

And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.”

Boaz said to his young man, the one who was overseeing the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”

The young man who was overseeing the harvesters answered, “She’s a young Moabite woman, the one who returned with Naomi from the territory of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean so that I might gather up grain from among the bundles behind the harvesters.’ She arrived and has been on her feet from the morning until now, and has sat down for only a moment.”[a]

Boaz said to Ruth, “Haven’t you understood, my daughter? Don’t go glean in another field; don’t go anywhere else. Instead, stay here with my young women. Keep your eyes on the field that they are harvesting and go along after them. I’ve ordered the young men not to assault you. Whenever you are thirsty, go to the jugs and drink from what the young men have filled.”

10 Then she bowed down, face to the ground, and replied to him, “How is it that I’ve found favor in your eyes, that you notice me? I’m an immigrant.” 11 Boaz responded to her, “Everything that you did for your mother-in-law after your husband’s death has been reported fully to me: how you left behind your father, your mother, and the land of your birth, and came to a people you hadn’t known beforehand. 12 May the Lord reward you[b] for your deed. May you receive a rich reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you’ve come to seek refuge.” 13 She said, “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, sir, because you’ve comforted me and because you’ve spoken kindly to your female servant—even though I’m not one of your female servants.”

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here, eat some of the bread, and dip your piece in the vinegar.” She sat alongside the harvesters, and he served roasted grain to her. She ate, was satisfied, and had leftovers. 15 Then she got up to glean.

Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her glean between the bundles, and don’t humiliate her. 16 Also, pull out some from the bales for her and leave them behind for her to glean. And don’t scold her.”

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed what she had gleaned; it was about an ephah[c] of barley. 18 She picked it up and went into town. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had left over after eating her fill and gave it to her. 19 Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? May the one who noticed you be blessed.”

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 replied to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, who hasn’t abandoned his faithfulness with the living or with the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is one of our close relatives; he’s one of our redeemers.”

21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “Furthermore, he said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they’ve finished all of my harvest.’”

22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It’s good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that men don’t assault you in another field.”

23 Thus she stayed with Boaz’s young women, gleaning until the completion of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:7 Heb uncertain
  2. Ruth 2:12 LXX
  3. Ruth 2:17 An ephah is approximately twenty quarts of grain.