| 1 | Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. |
| 2 | And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. Naomi said to her, Go, my daughter. |
| 3 | And [Ruth] went and gleaned in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. |
| 4 | And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you! And they answered him, The Lord bless you! |
| 5 | Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose maiden is this? |
| 6 | And the servant set over the reapers answered, She is the Moabitish girl who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. |
| 7 | And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued from early morning until now, except when she rested a little in the house. |
| 8 | Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maidens. |
| 9 | Watch which field they reap, and follow them. Have I not charged the young men not to molest you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn. |
| 10 | Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner? |
| 11 | And Boaz said to her, I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people unknown to you before. |
| 12 | The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge! |
| 13 | Then she said, Let me find favor in your sight, my lord. For you have comforted me and have spoken to the heart of your maidservant, though I am not as one of your maidservants. |
| 14 | And at mealtime Boaz said to her, Come here and eat of the bread and dip your morsel in the sour wine [mixed with oil]. And she sat beside the reapers; and he passed her some parched grain, and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left [for Naomi]. |
| 15 | And when she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. |
| 16 | And let fall some handfuls for her on purpose and let them lie there for her to glean, and do not rebuke her. |
| 17 | So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned. It was about an ephah of barley. |
| 18 | And she took it up and went into the town; she showed her mother-in-law what she had gleaned, and she also brought forth and gave her the food she had reserved after she was satisfied. |
| 19 | And her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you. So [Ruth] told [her], The name of him with whom I worked today is Boaz. |
| 20 | And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord who has not ceased his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is a near relative of ours, one who has the right to redeem us. |
| 21 | And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Stay close to my young men until they have harvested my entire crop. |
| 22 | And Naomi said to Ruth, It is good, my daughter, for you to go out with his maidens, lest in any other field you be molested. |
| 23 | So she kept close to the maidens of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. |
Cross references:
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Ruth 2:20 : Lev. 25:25.
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