Ruth 2
1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side whose name was Boaz. He was a rich and influential man from the family of Elimelech.
2 And Ruth 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. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
Soon after Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the fields and pick up grain that's been left behind—if I can find someone will give me permission.” “Yes, go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.
3 And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And her chance was to land on the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
So she went and picked up grain the reapers had left behind. She happened to be working in a field that belonged to Boaz, a relative of Elimelech.
4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless thee.
Later on Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, “The Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
Then Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Who is this young woman related to?”
6 And the servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabite damsel who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.
“The young woman is a Moabite who came back with Naomi from Moab,” the servant replied.
7 And she said, Let me glean, I pray you, and gather behind the reapers among the sheaves. So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she tarried a little in the house.
“She asked me, ‘Please may I have permission to pick up grain behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she's been working here from morning until now, except for a brief rest in the shelter.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, Do thou not hear, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from here, but abide here close by my maidens.
Boaz went and spoke to Ruth. “Listen to me, my daughter,” he told her. “Don't leave to go and pick up grain in someone else's field. Stay close to my women.
9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? And when thou are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Pay attention to what part of the field the men are reaping and follow the women. I've told the men not to bother you. When you get thirsty, go and have a drink from the water jars the servants have filled.”
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in thy sight that thou should take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?
She bowed down with her face to the ground. “Why are you being so kind to me or even notice me, seeing I'm a foreigner?” she asked him.
11 And Boaz answered and said to her, It has been fully shown me all that thou have done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband, and how thou have left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and have come to a people that thou knew not formerly.
“I've heard about all you've done for your mother-in-law since your husband died,” Boaz replied. “And also how you left your father and mother, and the land of your birth, to come and live among people you didn't know.
12 Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou have come to take refuge.
May the Lord fully reward you for all you've done—the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you've come for protection.
13 Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, because thou have comforted me, and because thou have spoken kindly to thy handmaid, though I be not as one of thy handmaidens.
Thank you for being so good to me, sir,” she replied. “You have reassured me by speaking to me kindly. I'm not even one of your servants.”
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left of it.
When it was time to eat, Boaz called her over. “Come here,” he said. “Take some bread and dip it in wine vinegar.” So she sat down with the workers and Boaz passed her some roasted grain to eat. She ate until she'd had enough with some left over.
15 And when she arose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.
After Ruth went back to work Boaz told his men, “Let her pick up grain even among the sheaves. Don't say anything to embarrass her.
16 And also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and do not rebuke her.
In fact, pull out some stalks from the bundles you're cutting and leave them for her to pick up. Don't tell her off.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. And she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
Ruth worked in the field until the evening. When she beat out the grain that she had picked up it was a large amount.
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 which she had left after she was satisfied.
She picked it up and took it back to town to show her mother-in-law how much she had collected. Ruth also gave her what she had left over from her meal.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, Where have thou gleaned today? And where have thou worked? Blessed be he who took knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.
Naomi asked her, “Where did you pick up grain today? Exactly where did you work? Bless whoever cared enough about you to pay you some attention!” So she told her mother-in-law about who she had worked with. “The man I worked with today is called Boaz.”
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is near of kin to us, one of our near kinsmen.
“The Lord bless him!” Naomi exclaimed to her daughter-in-law. “He goes on showing his kindness to the living and the dead. That man is a close relative to us—a ‘family redeemer.’”
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yes, he said to me, Thou shall keep close by my young men until they have ended all my harvest.
Ruth added, “He also told me, ‘Stay close to my workers until they have finished harvesting my entire crop.’”
22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they not meet thee in any other field.
“That's good, my daughter,” Naomi told Ruth. “Stay with his women workers. Don't go to other fields where you might be molested.”
23 So she kept close by the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest. And she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
So Ruth stayed with Boaz' women workers picking up grain until the end of the barley harvest, and then on to the end of the wheat harvest. She lived with her mother-in-law the whole time.
