Ruth 2
1 There was a man in Bethlehem who belonged to the clan of [Naomi’s dead husband], Elimelech. He was rich and well-known/influential. His name was Boaz.
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.
2 [One day] Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the grain left behind by the workers.” Naomi replied, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
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.
3 So Ruth went to the fields and began to pick up some of the left-over grain. And it happened that she was working in a field that belonged to Boaz, [the man] from the clan of [her dead father-in-law], Elimelech!
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.
4 Just then, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He greeted the men who were harvesting the grain, saying, “I want Yahweh to bless you!” They replied, “We want Yahweh to bless you, [too]!”
And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless thee.
5 Then Boaz saw Ruth, and asked the (foreman/man in charge of the other workmen), “Whose [daughter] is that young woman?”
Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
6 The foreman replied, “She is the woman from Moab who returned from there with [her mother-in-law] Naomi.
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.
7 She said to me, ‘Please let me walk behind the men who are harvesting the grain and pick up some of the grain they leave behind.’ [I gave her permission, and] she went into the field, and she has been working from this morning until now. The only time she did not work was when she rested for a short time in the shelter.”
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.
8 So Boaz went over to Ruth and said to her, “Young lady, listen to me. Don’t go and pick up grain in another field. Do not go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls.
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.
9 Watch where the men are harvesting, and follow along behind the [servant] girls. I will tell the men [who are working] not to touch/molest you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get some water to drink from the jars that the men have filled.”
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.
10 When he said that, she knelt down in front of him [in respect], with her face touching the ground. She exclaimed, “Why are you acting so kindly toward me, by paying attention to me? [I am not even a Jew; I am] a foreigner!”
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?
11 Boaz replied, “People have told me all about what you have done for your mother-in-law. They told me that you left your parents and your homeland, and you came here to live among people whom you did not know before.
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.
12 I hope/desire that Yahweh will repay you for what you have done. You have put yourself in the care of Yahweh, [like a little bird puts itself] under [its mother’s] wings [MET]. I desire that he will reward you very greatly.”
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.
13 She replied, “Sir, I hope you will continue to act kindly toward me. You have comforted/encouraged me, even though I am lower in status than any of your servant girls.”
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.
14 At mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Take some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar [and eat it].” Then when she sat down with the men who had been harvesting, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all the grain she wanted, and had some left over.
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.
15 As she stood up to start gathering grain [again], Boaz ordered his workers, “Even if she gathers some grain near the bundles of grain that have been cut, do not scold her.
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.
16 Instead, pull out some stalks of grain from the bundles, and leave them on the ground for her to pick up, and do not rebuke her.”
And also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and do not rebuke her.
17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she (threshed/beat with a stick) the barley that she had gathered, [to separate the kernels from the stalks], and the barley filled a large basket.
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.
18 She carried it back to town, and showed to her mother-in-law how much she had gathered. Ruth also showed to her the grain [that was left over after] she had eaten enough from [what Boaz had given her at lunchtime].
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.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? In whose [field] did you work? [God will] surely bless the man who was kind to you.” Then Ruth told her about the man in whose field she had been working. She said, “The name of the man [who owns the field] where I worked today is Boaz.”
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.
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will bless him! He has not stopped acting kindly toward [us, who are still] living, and to [our husbands] who have died.” Then she added, “That man is a close relative [of Elimelech]; he is one of those who has a responsibility to help those who are his relatives.”
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.
21 Then Ruth said, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they have finished harvesting all my grain.’”
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.
22 Naomi replied, “My daughter, it will be good for you to go [to his field] with his [servant] girls, because if you go to someone else’s field, someone might harm/molest you.”
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.
23 So Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s [servant] girls [while she was working]. She gathered stalks of grain until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were finished. During that time she lived with Naomi.
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.
