Ruth 2:4-17

New International Reader's Version

⁴ Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He greeted those cutting and gathering the grain. He said, “May the Lord be with you!”

“And may the Lord bless you!” they replied.

⁵ Boaz spoke to the man in charge of his workers. He asked, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

⁶ The man replied, “She’s from Moab. She came back from there with Naomi. ⁷ The young woman said, ‘Please let me walk behind the workers. Let me pick up the grain that is left.’ She came into the field. She has kept on working here from morning until now. She took only one short rest in the shade.”

⁸ So Boaz said to Ruth, “Dear woman, listen to me. Don’t pick up grain in any other field. Don’t go anywhere else. Stay here with the women who work for me. ⁹ Keep your eye on the field where the men are cutting grain. Walk behind the women who are gathering it. Pick up the grain that is left. I’ve told the men not to bother you. When you are thirsty, go and get a drink. Take water from the jars the men have filled.”

¹⁰ When Ruth heard that, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why are you being so kind to me? In fact, why are you even noticing me? I’m from another country.”

¹¹ Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about you. I’ve heard about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know that you left your father and mother. I know that you left your country. You came to live with people you didn’t know before. ¹² May the Lord reward you for what you have done. May the Lord, the God of Israel, bless you richly. You have come to him to find safety under his care.”

¹³ “Sir, I hope you will continue to be kind to me,” Ruth said. “You have made me feel safe. You have spoken kindly to me. And I’m not even as important as one of your servants!”

¹⁴ When it was time to eat, Boaz spoke to Ruth again. “Come over here,” he said. “Have some bread. Dip it in the wine vinegar.”

She sat down with the workers. Then Boaz offered her some grain that had been cooked. She ate all she wanted. She even had some left over. ¹⁵ Ruth got up to pick up more grain. Then Boaz gave orders to his men. He said, “Let her take some stalks from what the women have tied up. Don’t tell her she can’t. ¹⁶ Even pull out some stalks for her. Leave them for her to pick up. Don’t tell her she shouldn’t do it.”

¹⁷ So Ruth picked up grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the barley from the straw. The barley weighed 30 pounds.