Ruth 2
1 And Na'omi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty, valiant man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Bo'az.
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 unto Na'omi, Let me go, I pray thee, into the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose eyes I shall find grace. And she said unto 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 the accident happened to her, that it was a part of the field belonging unto Bo'az, 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, Bo'az came from Beth-lechem, and he said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they said unto him, May the Lord 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 said Bo'az unto his young man that was appointed over the reapers, Whose maiden is this?
Then Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Who is this young woman related to?”
6 And the young man that was appointed over the reapers answered and said, It is a Moabitish maiden that is returned with Na'omi out of the fields 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 among the sheaves after the reapers: so she came, and hath remained ever from the morning even until now; it is but a little while that she hath sat down 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 said Bo'az unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go away from this; but keep close company with my own 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 thy eyes be on the field which they may reap, and go thou after them; behold, I have charged the young men that they shall not touch thee: and when thou art thirsty, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men may draw.
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 Thereupon she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thy eyes, that thou shouldst take cognizance of me, seeing I am but a stranger?
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 But Bo'az answered and said unto her, It hath fully been told me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law after the death of thy husband; and how thou hast forsaken thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not yesterday or the day before.
“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 May the Lord recompense thy work, and may thy reward be complete from the Lord the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to seek shelter.
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 said she, Let me find grace in thy eyes, my lord; for thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken [kindly] unto the heart of thy handmaid, though I be not like one of thy handmaids.
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 Bo'az said unto her, At mealtime come near hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she seated herself beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she ate, and was satisfied, and had some left.
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 Then did she arise to glean: and Bo'az commanded his young men, saying, Even between the sheaves let her glean, and do not cause her to feel any shame;
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 ye shall also draw out some for her from the bundles on purpose, and leave it, that she may glean it, and ye shall 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 the evening; and when she beat out what she had gleaned, 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 she went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth and gave to her what she had left over 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 unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today? and where hast thou wrought? may he that took cognizance of thee be blessed. And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The name of the man with whom I wrought today is Bo'az.
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 Then said Na'omi unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he unto the Lord, who hath not withheld his kindness from the living and from the dead. And Na'omi said unto her, The man is nearly related unto us, he is one of our next 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, He hath also said unto me, Thou shalt keep close company with 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 Then said Na'omi unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that men may not meet with 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 company with the maidens of Bo'az in gleaning until the end of the barley-harvest and of the 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.
