Ruth 2
2
Ruth Gathers Grain in the Field of Boaz
1Naomi had a relative. He was from Elimelech’s side of the family. He was a man of outstanding character named Boaz.
2Ruth, who was from Moab, said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field of anyone who will be kind to me. There I will gather the grain left behind by the reapers.”
Naomi told her, “Go, my daughter.”
3So Ruth went. She entered a field and gathered the grain left behind by the reapers. Now it happened that she ended up in the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.
4Just then, Boaz was coming from Bethlehem, and he said to his reapers, “May the Lord be with all of you!”
They answered him, “May the Lord bless you!”
5Boaz asked the young man in charge of his reapers, “Who is this young woman?”
6The young man answered, “She’s a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7She said, ‘Please let me gather grain. I will only gather among the bundles behind the reapers.’ So she came here and has been on her feet from daybreak until now. She just sat down this minute in the shelter.”
Boaz Speaks with Ruth
8Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go in any other field to gather grain, and don’t even leave this one. Stay here with my young women. 9Watch where my men are reaping, and follow the young women in that field. I have ordered my young men not to touch you. When you’re thirsty, go to the jars and drink some of the water that the young men have drawn.”
10Ruth immediately bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so helpful? Why are you paying attention to me? I’m only a foreigner.”
11Boaz answered her, “People have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband died. They told me how you left your father and mother and the country where you were born. They also told me how you came to people that you didn’t know before. 12May the Lord reward you for what you have done! May you receive a rich reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose protection you have come for shelter.”
13Ruth replied, “Sir, may your kindness to me continue. You have comforted me and reassured me, and I’m not even one of your own servants.”
14When it was time to eat, Boaz told her, “Come here. Have some bread, and dip it into the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
15When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her gather grain even among the bundles. Don’t give her any problems. 16Even pull some grain out of the bundles and leave it for her to gather. Don’t give her a hard time about it.”
Ruth and Naomi Talk about Boaz
17So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the grain from its husks. She had about half a bushel of barley. 18She picked it up and went into the town, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also took out what she had left over from lunch and gave it to Naomi.
19Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? Just where did you work? May the man who paid attention to you be blessed.”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the person with whom she worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the Lord bless him. The Lord hasn’t stopped being kind to people—living or dead.” Then Naomi told her, “That man is a relative of ours. He is a close relative, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”
21Ruth, who was from Moab, told her, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my younger workers until they have finished the harvest.’ ”
22Naomi told her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It’s a good idea, my daughter, that you go out to the fields with his young women. If you go to someone else’s field, you may be molested.”
23So Ruth stayed with the young women who were working for Boaz. She gathered grain until both the barley harvest and the wheat harvest ended. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Ruth 2
2
Ruth meets Boaz in the cornfield
1Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
2And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.’
Naomi said to her, ‘Go ahead, my daughter.’ 3So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.
4Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The Lord be with you!’
‘The Lord bless you!’ they answered.
5Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, ‘Who does that young woman belong to?’
6The overseer replied, ‘She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7She said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.” She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.’
8So 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. 9Watch 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.’
10At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, ‘Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?’
11Boaz replied, ‘I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.’
13‘May I continue to find favour in your eyes, 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.’
14At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, ‘Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.’
17So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.#2:17 That is, probably about 13 kilograms 18She 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 after she had eaten enough.
19Her mother-in-law asked her, ‘Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!’
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!’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.’ She added, ‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.#2:20 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55).’
21Then Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He even said to me, “Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.” ’
22Naomi 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.’
23So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
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