Ruth 2
International Standard Version
Boaz Meets Ruth
2 Naomi had a close relative of her late[a] husband, a man of considerable wealth from the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.
2 Ruth the Moabite told Naomi, “Please allow me to go out to the fields and glean grain behind anyone who shows me kindness.”
So Naomi replied, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
3 So she went out, proceeded to the field, and gleaned behind the harvesters. And it happened that she came to the portion of land belonging to Boaz, of the family of Elimelech.
4 Now when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he told the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.”
“May the Lord bless you!” they replied.
5 At this point, Boaz asked the foreman of[b] his harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”
6 The foreman of[c] the harvesters answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She asked us, ‘Please allow me to glean what’s left of the grain behind the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued working[d] from dawn until now, except for a short time in a shelter.”
Boaz Shows Kindness to Ruth
8 Boaz then addressed Ruth: “Listen, my daughter![e] Don’t glean in any other field. Don’t even leave this one, and be sure to stay close to my women servants. 9 Keep your eyes on the field where they are harvesting, and follow them. I’ve ordered my young men not to bother[f] you, haven’t I? And when you are thirsty, drink from the water vessels that the young men have filled.”
10 At this she fell prostrate, bowing low to the ground, and asked him, “Why is it that you’re showing me kindness by noticing me, since I’m a foreigner?”
11 Boaz answered her, “It has been clearly disclosed to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband—how you left your father, your mother, and your own land behind, and came to a people you did not previously know. 12 May the Lord repay you for your work, and may a full reward be given you from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings[g] you have come for refuge.”
13 She responded, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, sir, since you’ve been comforting me and you have spoken graciously to[h] your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”
14 At lunchtime, Boaz invited her, “Come on over, have some food, and dip your bread in our oil and[i] vinegar.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he handed her some roasted grain, which she ate until she was satisfied. She kept what was left over.
Boaz the Benefactor
15 After she had left to glean, Boaz commanded his servants,[j] “Allow her to glean also among the cut sheaves, and don’t taunt her. 16 One other thing[k]—drop some handfuls[l] deliberately, leaving them for her so she can gather it. And don’t bother her.” 17 So Ruth[m] gathered grain out in the field until dusk, and then threshed what she had gathered—about a week’s supply[n] of barley. 18 She picked up her grain[o] and went back to town.
Her mother-in-law noticed how much Ruth[p] had gleaned and had brought back from what was left over from her lunch. 19 So her mother-in-law quizzed her, “Where did you glean today? Where, precisely, did you work? May the one who took notice of you be blessed.”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 Naomi replied, “May the one who hasn’t abandoned his gracious love to the living or to the dead be blessed by the Lord.” Naomi added, “This man is closely related to us, our related redeemer,[q] as a matter of fact!”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite woman added, “He also told me ‘Stay close to my young men until they have completed my entire harvest.’”
22 Naomi responded to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is prudent, my daughter, for you to go out with his women servants, so someone won’t attack you in another field.” 23 So Ruth[r] continued to stay close to the young women who worked for Boaz, gathering grain until both the barley and wheat harvests were complete, all the while living with her mother-in-law.
Footnotes
- Ruth 2:1 The Heb. lacks late
- Ruth 2:5 Or the young man over
- Ruth 2:6 Or The young man over
- Ruth 2:7 The Heb. lacks working
- Ruth 2:8 Lit. Will you not listen, my daughter?
- Ruth 2:9 Or touch
- Ruth 2:12 Or garment; cf. 3:9
- Ruth 2:13 Lit. spoken to the heart of
- Ruth 2:14 The Heb. lacks oil and
- Ruth 2:15 Or young men
- Ruth 2:16 Lit. her. 16 Also
- Ruth 2:16 Or portions
- Ruth 2:17 Lit. she
- Ruth 2:17 Lit. an ephah; i.e. enough to support Naomi and Ruth for at least five or six days
- Ruth 2:18 The Heb. lacks her grain
- Ruth 2:18 Lit. she
- Ruth 2:20 I.e. a close male relative responsible to redeem inheritances (Lev. 25:25), to free relatives from indentured servitude (Lev. 25:47-55), to avenge deaths (Deut. 19:1-13), and to financially support, care for, and (in certain limited cases) to marry a widow related to him (Deut. 25:5-10); and so throughout the book
- Ruth 2:23 Lit. she
Ruth 2
New King James Version
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 There was a (A)relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of (B)Elimelech. His name was (C)Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the (D)field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”
And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
4 Now behold, Boaz came from (E)Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, (F)“The Lord be with you!”
And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman (G)who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
10 So she (H)fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found (I)favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, (J)all that you have done for 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 whom you did not know before. 12 (K)The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, (L)under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
13 Then she said, (M)“Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken [a]kindly to your maidservant, (N)though I am not like one of your maidservants.”
14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and (O)was satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to [b]glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [c]reproach her. 16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of (P)barley. 18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her (Q)what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who (R)took notice of you.”
So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, (S)“Blessed be he of the Lord, who (T)has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, (U)one of [d]our close relatives.”
21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”
22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not [e]meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
