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.
Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose 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.”
Ruth, the Moabite woman, said to Naomi, “Now let me go and glean what remains among the ears of grain in the fields. I will follow anyone in whose eyes I will find favor.” So Naomi 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!
Ruth went and gleaned what remained in the fields after they had harvested it. She happened to come to the portion of the fields belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelek.
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]!”
Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.” They answered him, “May Yahweh bless you.”
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 supervising the reapers, “What man does this young woman belong to?”
6 The foreman replied, “She is the woman from Moab who returned from there with [her mother-in-law] Naomi.
The servant supervising the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the land 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.”
She said to me, 'Please let me glean what remains in the field after the workers harvest the crop.' So she came here and has continued from the morning until now, except that she rested 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, “Are you listening to me, my daughter? Do not go and glean in another field; do not leave my field. Instead, stay here and work with my young female workers.
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.”
Keep your eyes only on the field where the men are reaping and follow behind the other women. Have I not instructed the men not to touch you? Whenever you are thirsty, you may go to the waterpots and drink the water that the 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 bowed down before Boaz, touching her face to the ground. She said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should be concerned about me, 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.
Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been reported to me, all that you have done since the death of your husband. You have left your father, mother, and the land of your birth to follow your mother-in-law and to come to a people you do not know.
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.”
May Yahweh reward you for your deed. May you receive full payment from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have found 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 your eyes, my master, for you have comforted me, and you have spoken kindly to me, though I am not one of your female servants.”
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.
At mealtime Boaz said to Ruth, “Come here, and eat some of the bread, and dip your morsel in the wine vinegar.” She sat beside the reapers, and he offered her some roasted grain. She ate until she was satisfied and left the rest 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.
As she got up to gather up grain, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her gather up the grain even among the bundles, and do not tell her not to.
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.”
Also pull out for her some ears of grain from the bundles, and leave them for her to gather up, 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. Then she beat out the ears of grain that she had gathered, and the grain 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].
She lifted it up and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also brought out the roasted grain left from her meal and gave it to her.
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.”
Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? Where did you go to work? May the man who helped you be blessed.” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man who owned the field where she had worked. She said, “The name of the man who owns the field where 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.”
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by Yahweh, who has not left off his loyalty to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “That man is near of kin to us, one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth said, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they have finished harvesting all my grain.’”
Ruth the Moabite woman said, “Indeed, he said to me, 'You should keep close to my young men until they have finished 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.”
Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young female workers, so that you do not come to harm 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 stayed close to Boaz's female workers in order to glean to the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. She lived with her mother-in-law.
