Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

Now Naomi had a relative(A) on her husband’s side, a man of standing(B) from the clan of Elimelek,(C) whose name was Boaz.(D)

And Ruth the Moabite(E) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain(F) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.(G)

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.(H) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.(I)

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!(J)

“The Lord bless you!(K)” they answered.

Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite(L) who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves(M) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest(N) in the shelter.”

So 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. Watch 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.”

10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.(O) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me(P)—a foreigner?(Q)

11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law(R) since the death of your husband(S)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know(T) before.(U) 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,(V) the God of Israel,(W) under whose wings(X) you have come to take refuge.(Y)

13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,(Z) 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.”

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread(AA) and dip it in the wine vinegar.”

When she sat down with the harvesters,(AB) he offered her some roasted grain.(AC) She ate all she wanted and had some left over.(AD) 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves(AE) and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke(AF) her.”

17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed(AG) the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.[a](AH) 18 She 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(AI) after she had eaten enough.

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!(AJ)

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!(AK)” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.(AL) “He has not stopped showing his kindness(AM) to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative;(AN) he is one of our guardian-redeemers.[b](AO)

21 Then Ruth the Moabite(AP) said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”

22 Naomi 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.”

23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley(AQ) and wheat harvests(AR) were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:17 That is, probably about 30 pounds or about 13 kilograms
  2. Ruth 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).

路得在田間遇見波阿斯

拿娥米有一個親戚,是她丈夫以利米勒本族的人,名叫波阿斯,是個大財主。 摩押女子路得拿娥米說:「讓我到田裏去拾取麥穗,我在誰的眼中蒙恩,就跟在誰的身後。」拿娥米說:「女兒啊,你去吧。」 路得就去了。她來到田間,在收割的人身後拾取麥穗。她恰巧來到以利米勒本族的人波阿斯那塊田裏。 看哪,波阿斯正從伯利恆來,對收割的人說:「願耶和華與你們同在!」他們對他說:「願耶和華賜福給你!」 波阿斯對監督收割的僕人說:「那是誰家的女子?」 監督收割的僕人回答說:「她是摩押女子,跟隨拿娥米摩押地回來的。 她說:『請你容許我拾取麥穗,在收割的人身後撿禾捆中掉落的麥穗。』她就來了,從早晨直到如今,除了在屋子裏坐一會兒,她都留在這裏。」

波阿斯路得說:「女兒啊,聽我說,不要到別人田裏去拾取麥穗,也不要離開這裏,要緊跟着我的女僕們。 你要看好我的僕人正在哪塊田收割,就跟着女僕們去。我已經吩咐僕人不可侵犯你。你渴了,可以到水缸那裏喝僕人打來的水。」 10 路得就臉伏於地叩拜,對他說:「我既是外邦女子,怎麼會在你眼中蒙恩,使你這樣照顧我呢?」 11 波阿斯回答她說:「自從你丈夫死後,凡你向婆婆所行的,以及你離開父母和你的出生地,到素不相識的百姓中,這些事人都告訴我了。 12 願耶和華照你所行的報償你。你來投靠在耶和華—以色列 神的翅膀下,願你滿得他的報償。」 13 路得說:「我主啊,願我在你眼前蒙恩。我雖然不及你的一個婢女,你還安慰我,對你的婢女說關心的話。」

14 吃飯的時候,波阿斯路得說:「你到這裏來吃些餅,把你的一塊蘸在醋裏。」路得就在收割的人旁邊坐下。波阿斯把烘了的穗子遞給她。她吃飽了,還有剩餘的。 15 她又起來拾取麥穗,波阿斯吩咐僕人說:「她即使在禾捆中拾取麥穗,也不可羞辱她。 16 你們還要從捆裏抽一些出來,留給她拾取,不可責備她。」

17 這樣,路得在田間拾取麥穗,直到晚上。她把所拾取的麥穗打了約有一伊法的大麥。 18 路得把所拾取的帶進城去給婆婆看,又把她吃飽所剩的拿出來,給了婆婆。 19 婆婆問她說:「你今日在哪裏拾取麥穗?在哪裏做工呢?願那照顧你的得福。」路得告訴婆婆,她在誰那裏做工,說:「我今日在一個名叫波阿斯的人那裏做工。」 20 拿娥米對媳婦說:「願那人蒙耶和華賜福,因為他不斷地恩待活人死人。」拿娥米又對她說:「那人是我們本族的人,是一個可以贖我們產業的至親。」 21 摩押女子路得說:「他還對我說:『你要緊跟着我的僕人拾取麥穗,直到他們把我所有的莊稼收割完畢。』」 22 拿娥米對媳婦路得說:「女兒啊,你要跟着他的女僕出去,免得你在別人的田間受人騷擾。」 23 於是路得緊跟着波阿斯的女僕拾取麥穗,直到大麥和小麥收割完畢。路得仍與婆婆同住。

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

And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.

Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.

14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:

16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

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

18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.

19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.

20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.