Ruth 2–3

Ruth and Boaz Meet

2Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side named Boaz. He was a prominent man of noble character ^ffrom Elimelech’s family.

²Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain ^gbehind someone who allows me to?”

Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened ^hto be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.

⁴Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.” ⁱ

“The Lord bless you,” ^jthey replied.

⁵Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has remained from early morning until now, except that she rested a little in the shelter.” ^k

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. ^lDon’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. ⁹See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? ^mWhen you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

¹⁰She bowed with her face to the ground ⁿand said to him, “Why are you so kind to notice me, although I am a foreigner?”

¹¹Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. ¹²May the Lord reward you for what you have done, ^oand may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” ^p

¹³“My lord,” she said, “you have been so kind to me, for you have comforted and encouraged ^qyour slave, although I am not like one of your female servants.”

¹⁴At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.

¹⁵When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her even gather grain among the bundles, and don’t humiliate her. ¹⁶Pull out some stalks from the bundles for her and leave them for her to gather. Don’t rebuke her.” ¹⁷So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about 26 quarts ^rof barley. ¹⁸She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. Then she brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her.

¹⁹Then her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather barley today, and where did you work? May the Lord bless the man who noticed you.” ^s

Ruth told her mother-in-law about the men she had worked with and said, “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.”

²⁰Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, ^twho has not forsaken his ^ukindness to the living or the dead.” ^vNaomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.” ^w

²¹Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished all of my harvest.’ ”

²²So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work ^xwith his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.” ²³Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s female servants and gathered grain until the barley and the wheat harvests were finished. ^yAnd she lived with ^zher mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Appeal to Boaz

3Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of? ²Now isn’t Boaz our relative? ^aHaven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”

⁵So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.” ^b6She went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits, ^che went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley. Then she went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! ⁹So he asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Ruth, your slave,” she replied. “Spread your cloak ^dover me, ^efor you are a family redeemer.” ^f

¹⁰Then he said, “May the Lord bless you, ^gmy daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, ^hbecause you have not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹Now don’t be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you say, ⁱsince all the people in my town ^jknow that you are a woman of noble character. ^k12Yes, it is true that I am a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer closer than I am. ¹³Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good. ^lLet him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, ^mI will. Now lie down until morning.”

¹⁴So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark. ⁿThen Boaz said, “Don’t let it be known that a ^owoman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵And he told Ruth, “Bring the shawl you’re wearing and hold it out.” When she held it out, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl, and she ^pwent into the town.

¹⁶She went to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who asked her, “How did it go, ^qmy daughter?”

Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. ¹⁷She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he said, ^r‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”

¹⁸Naomi said, “My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest unless he resolves this today.”