Ruth 2
1 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.
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2 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.
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.
3 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.
So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4 Later on Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, “The Lord bless you!”
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
5 Then Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Who is this young woman related to?”
And Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 “The young woman is a Moabite who came back with Naomi from Moab,” the servant replied.
The foreman answered, “She is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
7 “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.”
She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.”
8 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.
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go and glean in another field, and do not go away from this place, but stay here close to my servant girls.
9 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.”
Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting, and follow along after these girls. Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”
10 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.
At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”
11 “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.
Boaz replied, “I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you did not know before.
12 May the Lord fully reward you for all you've done—the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you've come for protection.
May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
13 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.”
“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
14 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.
At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
15 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.
When Ruth got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, do not insult her.
16 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.”
Rather, pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.”
17 Ruth worked in the field until the evening. When she beat out the grain that she had picked up it was a large amount.
So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was about an ephah of barley.
18 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.
She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out what she had saved from her meal and gave it to Naomi.
19 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.”
Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.” So she told her mother-in-law where she had worked. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 “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.’”
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
21 Ruth added, “He also told me, ‘Stay close to my workers until they have finished harvesting my entire crop.’”
Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished gathering all my harvest.’”
22 “That's good, my daughter,” Naomi told Ruth. “Stay with his women workers. Don't go to other fields where you might be molested.”
And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”
23 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.
So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
