Ruth 2

¹And Naomi had a relation of her husband, a man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Now let me go into the field and take up the heads of grain after him in whose eyes I may have grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.

³And she went, and came and took up the heads of grain in the field after the cutters; and by chance she went into that part of the field which was the property of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴And Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said to the grain-cutters, The Lord be with you. And they made answer, The Lord give you his blessing.

⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in authority over the cutters, Whose girl is this?

⁶And the servant who was in authority over the cutters said, It is a Moabite girl who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab;

⁷And she said to me, Let me come into the grain-field and take up the grain after the cutters. So she came, and has been here from morning till now, without resting even for a minute.

⁸Then said Boaz to Ruth, Give ear to me, my daughter: do not go to take up the grain in another field, or go away from here, but keep here by my young women:

⁹Keep your eyes on the field they are cutting, and go after them; have I not given orders to the young men not to put a hand on you? And when you are in need of drink go to the vessels and take of what the young men have put there.

¹⁰Then she went down on her face to the earth, and said to him, Why have I grace in your eyes, that you give attention to me, seeing I am from a strange people?

¹¹And Boaz answering said to her, I have had news of everything you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband; how you went away from your father and mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people who are strange to you.

¹²The Lord give you a reward for what you have done, and may a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take cover.

¹³Then she said, May I have grace in your eyes, my lord, for you have given me comfort, and you have said kind words to your servant, though I am not like one of your servants.

¹⁴And at meal-time Boaz said to her, Come here, and take some of the bread, and put your bit into the wine. And she took her seat among the grain-cutters: and he gave her dry grain, and she took it, and there was more than enough for her meal.

¹⁵And when she got ready to take up the grain, Boaz gave his young men orders, saying, Let her take it even from among the cut grain, and say nothing to her.

¹⁶And let some heads of grain be pulled out of what has been corded up, and dropped for her to take, and let no sharp word be said to her.

¹⁷So she went on getting together the heads of grain till evening; and after crushing out the seed it came to about an ephah of grain.

¹⁸And she took it up and went into the town; and she let her mother-in-law see what she had got, and after taking enough for herself she gave her the rest.

¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, Where did you take up the grain today, and where were you working? May a blessing be on him who gave such attention to you. And she gave her mother-in-law an account of where she had been working, and said, The name of the man with whom I was working today is Boaz.

²⁰And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, May the blessing of the Lord, who has at all times been kind to the living and to the dead, be on him. And Naomi said to her, The man is of our family, one of our near relations.

²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, Truly, he said to me, Keep near my young men till all my grain is cut.

²²And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, It is better, my daughter, for you to go out with his servant-girls, so that no danger may come to you in another field.

²³So she kept near the servant-girls of Boaz to take up the grain till the cutting of the early grain and the cutting of the late grain were ended; and she went on living with her mother-in-law.

Ruth 2

¹Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.

²Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor." She said to her, "Go, my daughter."

³She went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "The Lord be with you." They answered him, "The Lord bless you."

⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, "Whose young lady is this?"

⁶The servant who was set over the reapers answered, "It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

⁷She said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she stayed a little in the house."

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field, and do not go from here, but stay here close to my maidens.

⁹Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven't I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn."

¹⁰Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?"

¹¹Boaz answered her, "It has fully been shown to me, all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband; and how you have left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn't know before.

¹²May the Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

¹³Then she said, "Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your handmaid, though I am not as one of your handmaidens."

¹⁴At meal time Boaz said to her, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar." She sat beside the reapers, and they reached her parched grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left some of it.

¹⁵When she had risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.

¹⁶Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and do not rebuke her."

¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

¹⁸She took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.

¹⁹Her mother-in-law said to her, "Where have you gleaned today? And where have you worked? Blessed be he who noticed you." She showed her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz."

²⁰Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead." Naomi said to her, "The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen."

²¹Ruth the Moabitess said, "Yes, he said to me, 'You shall stay close to my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.'"

²²Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field."

²³So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.