רות 2
| ולנעמי מידע (מודע) לאישה איש גבור חיל--ממשפחת אלימלך ושמו בעז | 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.
| ותאמר רות המואביה אל נעמי אלכה נא השדה ואלקטה בשבלים--אחר אשר אמצא חן בעיניו ותאמר לה לכי בתי | 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.”
| ותלך ותבוא ותלקט בשדה אחרי הקצרים ויקר מקרה--חלקת השדה לבעז אשר ממשפחת אלימלך | 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!
| והנה בעז בא מבית לחם ויאמר לקוצרים יהוה עמכם ויאמרו לו יברכך יהוה | 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]!”
| ויאמר בעז לנערו הנצב על הקוצרים למי הנערה הזאת | 5 |
Then Boaz saw Ruth, and asked the (foreman/man in charge of the other workmen), “Whose [daughter] is that young woman?”
| ויען הנער הנצב על הקוצרים--ויאמר נערה מואביה היא השבה עם נעמי משדי מואב | 6 |
The foreman replied, “She is the woman from Moab who returned from there with [her mother-in-law] Naomi.
| ותאמר אלקטה נא ואספתי בעמרים אחרי הקוצרים ותבוא ותעמוד מאז הבקר ועד עתה--זה שבתה הבית מעט | 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.”
| ויאמר בעז אל רות הלוא שמעת בתי אל תלכי ללקט בשדה אחר וגם לא תעבורי מזה וכה תדבקין עם נערתי | 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.
| עיניך בשדה אשר יקצרון והלכת אחריהן--הלוא צויתי את הנערים לבלתי נגעך וצמת והלכת אל הכלים ושתית מאשר ישאבון הנערים | 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.”
| ותפל על פניה ותשתחו ארצה ותאמר אליו מדוע מצאתי חן בעיניך להכירני--ואנכי נכריה | 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!”
| ויען בעז ויאמר לה--הגד הגד לי כל אשר עשית את חמותך אחרי מות אישך ותעזבי אביך ואמך וארץ מולדתך ותלכי אל עם אשר לא ידעת תמול שלשום | 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.
| ישלם יהוה פעלך ותהי משכרתך שלמה מעם יהוה אלהי ישראל אשר באת לחסות תחת כנפיו | 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.”
| ותאמר אמצא חן בעיניך אדני כי נחמתני וכי דברת על לב שפחתך ואנכי לא אהיה כאחת שפחתיך | 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.”
| ויאמר לה בעז לעת האכל גשי הלם ואכלת מן הלחם וטבלת פתך בחמץ ותשב מצד הקצרים ויצבט לה קלי ותאכל ותשבע ותתר | 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.
| ותקם ללקט ויצו בעז את נעריו לאמר גם בין העמרים תלקט--ולא תכלימוה | 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.
| וגם של תשלו לה מן הצבתים ועזבתם ולקטה ולא תגערו בה | 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.”
| ותלקט בשדה עד הערב ותחבט את אשר לקטה ויהי כאיפה שערים | 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.
| ותשא ותבוא העיר ותרא חמותה את אשר לקטה ותוצא ותתן לה את אשר הותרה משבעה | 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].
| ותאמר לה חמותה איפה לקטת היום ואנה עשית--יהי מכירך ברוך ותגד לחמותה את אשר עשתה עמו ותאמר שם האיש אשר עשיתי עמו היום בעז | 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.”
| ותאמר נעמי לכלתה ברוך הוא ליהוה אשר לא עזב חסדו את החיים ואת המתים ותאמר לה נעמי קרוב לנו האיש--מגאלנו הוא | 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.”
| ותאמר רות המואביה גם כי אמר אלי עם הנערים אשר לי תדבקין עד אם כלו את כל הקציר אשר לי | 21 |
Then Ruth said, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they have finished harvesting all my grain.’”
| ותאמר נעמי אל רות כלתה טוב בתי כי תצאי עם נערותיו ולא יפגעו בך בשדה אחר | 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.”
| ותדבק בנערות בעז ללקט--עד כלות קציר השערים וקציר החטים ותשב את חמותה | 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.
