Ruth 2–3

Chapter 2

¹And Naomi had a relation of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me, I pray, go to the field and glean among the ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find favour. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. ³And she went; and she came and gleaned in the fields after the reapers; and she chanced to light on an allotment of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem; and he said to the reapers, Jehovah be with you! And they said to him, Jehovah bless thee! ⁵And Boaz said to his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose maiden is this? ⁶And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish maiden who came back with Naomi out of the fields of Moab; ⁷and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. And she came, and has continued from the morning until now: her sitting in the house has been little as yet. ⁸And Boaz said to Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from here, but keep here with my maidens. ⁹Let thine eyes be on the field which is being reaped, and go thou after them; have I not charged the young men not to touch thee? And when thou art athirst, go to the vessels and drink of what the young men draw. ¹⁰Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favour in thine eyes, that thou shouldest regard me, seeing I am a foreigner? ¹¹And Boaz answered and said to her, It has fully been shewn me, all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come to a people that thou hast not known heretofore. ¹²Jehovah recompense thy work, and let thy reward be full from Jehovah the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge. ¹³And she said, Let me find favour in thine eyes, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly to thy handmaid, though I am not like one of thy handmaidens. ¹⁴And Boaz said to her at mealtime, Come hither and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers; and he reached her parched corn, and she ate and was sufficed, and reserved some. ¹⁵And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and ye shall not reproach her. ¹⁶And ye shall also sometimes draw out for her some ears out of the handfuls, and leave them that she may glean, and rebuke her not.

¹⁷And she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah of barley. ¹⁸And she took it up, and came 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 reserved after she was sufficed. ¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? Blessed be he that did regard thee! And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz. ²⁰And 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 those who have the right of our redemption. ²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Thou shalt keep with my young men until they have ended all my harvest. ²²And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. ²³So she kept with the maidens of Boaz to glean, until the end of the barley-harvest and of the wheat-harvest. And she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Chapter 3

¹And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? ²And now, is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he is winnowing barley in the threshing-floor to-night. ³Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the floor; make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. ⁴And it shall be, when he lies down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall have lain down, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thyself down; and he will shew thee what thou shalt do. ⁵And she said to her, All that thou sayest will I do.

⁶And she went down to the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law had bidden her. ⁷And Boaz ate and drank, and his heart was merry, and he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn. Then she went softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid herself down. ⁸And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was startled, and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet. ⁹And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thy handmaid: spread thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou hast the right of redemption. ¹⁰And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter! Thou hast shewn more kindness at the end than at the first, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹And now, my daughter, fear not: all that thou sayest will I do to thee; for all the gate of my people knows that thou art a woman of worth. ¹²And now, truly I am one that has the right of redemption, yet there is one that has the right of redemption who is nearer than I. ¹³Stay over to-night, and it shall be in the morning, if he will redeem thee, well—let him redeem; but if he like not to redeem thee, then will I redeem thee, as Jehovah liveth. Lie down until the morning.

¹⁴And she lay at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the threshing-floor. ¹⁵And he said, Bring the cloak that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And she held it, and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; and he went into the city. ¹⁶And she came to her mother-in-law; and she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. ¹⁷And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law. ¹⁸Then she said, Be still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest until he have completed the matter this day.