Ruth 2:4-17
Evangelical Heritage Version
4 At just that time, Boaz happened to come out from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!”
And they said to him, “The Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the territory of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me follow the reapers and glean and gather stalks into sheaves.’ So she came and has been working from early morning till now—except for a short rest in the shelter.”[a]
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.[b] Do not go off to glean in some other field. In fact, do not leave this one at all! Just stick close to my young women here.[c] 9 Keep your eyes on the field where the men are reaping so that you can follow my women. I have commanded the young men not to touch you. When you are thirsty, you may go to the jars and drink from whatever the young men draw out.”
10 Then Ruth bowed down with her face to the ground. She said to Boaz, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, so that you acknowledge me even though I am a foreigner?”
11 Boaz replied to her, “I have been fully informed about all that you did for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband and how you left behind your father and mother and the homeland of your relatives, and you came to a people whom you did not know previously. 12 May the Lord reward your work, and may you be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge!”
13 Then Ruth said, “I have found such favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and you have spoken to the heart of your servant girl—although I cannot be compared to one of your servant girls.”
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some of the food, and dip your piece of bread into the sour wine.”[d] So she sat down beside the reapers, and Boaz heaped up a serving of roasted grain for her. She ate until she was full and had some left over.
15 When she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his workers, “She may glean even among our sheaves. You are not to humiliate her in any way. 16 In fact, you can even pull out some stalks from the piles for her, and you can drop them on purpose so that she can glean them, and do not rebuke her at all.”
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed what she had gleaned. It amounted to almost a bushel[e] of barley.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ruth 2:7 Literally house. The Hebrew of the verse is difficult, and translations vary in their understanding.
- Ruth 2:8 Daughter is a cordial term, but it also indicates that the person addressed has a lower social status than the speaker does. It may also indicate a difference of age.
- Ruth 2:8 Boaz’s men were cutting the grain, and his women were gathering it. By receiving permission to be right with Boaz’s women, Ruth was placed into an advantageous position for gleaning.
- Ruth 2:14 In days before pasteurization and refrigeration, sweet wine quickly became sour. This sour wine was the daily beverage of workers and soldiers. When it was too sour to drink, it was vinegar.
- Ruth 2:17 Literally about an ephah, which is about ⅔ of a bushel. This may be about thirty pounds, though estimates of the weight of an ephah vary greatly.
Ruth 2:4-17
Lexham English Bible
4 And look, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.” And they said to him, “May Yahweh bless you.” 5 And Boaz said to his servant in charge of the reapers,[a] “To whom does this young woman belong?” 6 And the servant in charge of the reapers[b] said, “She is a Moabite girl returning with Naomi from the countryside of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and let me gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came and remained from the morning up to now. She is sitting for a little while in the house.”[c]
8 And Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully,[d] my daughter, go no longer to glean in another field. Moreover, do not leave from this one, but stay close[e] with my young women. 9 Keep your eyes on the field that they reap and go after them. Have I not ordered the servants not to bother you? And if you get thirsty, you shall go to the containers and drink from where the servants have drawn.” 10 And she fell on her face and bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes by recognizing me—for I am a foreigner?” 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband was fully told to me. How you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and you went to a people that you did not know before.[f] 12 May Yahweh reward your work and may a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you came to take refuge.” 13 And she said, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken kindly to your servant,[g] and I am not one of your servants.”
14 And Boaz said to her at mealtime,[h] “Come here and eat from the bread and dip your morsel in the wine vinegar.” So she sat beside the gleaners, and he offered to her roasted grain. And she ate and was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 And she got up to glean, and Boaz instructed his servants saying, “Let her also glean between the sheaves and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out for her from your bundles and leave it so that she may glean—and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until the evening and she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ruth 2:5 Literally “the one standing over the reapers”
- Ruth 2:6 Literally “the servant the one standing over the reapers”
- Ruth 2:7 Literally “this one she is sitting a little in the house”
- Ruth 2:8 Literally, “You have heard”
- Ruth 2:8 Literally “cling”
- Ruth 2:11 Literally “yesterday three days ago”
- Ruth 2:13 Literally “on the heart of your servant”
- Ruth 2:14 Literally “at the time of the food”
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