Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “(A)May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” Then Boaz said to his servant who was [a]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant [b]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 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.”

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “[c]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. 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 [d]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” 10 Then she (B)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 (C)May the Lord reward your [e]work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, (D)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 [f]kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants.”

14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “[g]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 (E)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 [h]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 [i]ephah of barley.

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:5 Lit appointed over
  2. Ruth 2:6 Lit who was appointed over
  3. Ruth 2:8 Lit Have you not heard
  4. Ruth 2:9 Lit vessels
  5. Ruth 2:12 Or behavior
  6. Ruth 2:13 Lit to the heart of your
  7. Ruth 2:14 Lit Come near here
  8. Ruth 2:15 Or harm
  9. Ruth 2:17 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters

While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.

“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.

Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”

And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”

Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”

10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”

11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”

14 At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.

15 When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. 16 And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”

17 So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 2:17 Hebrew it was about an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters].