Ruth 2–3

Ruth Meets Boaz

2Now Naomi had a rich relative named Boaz, from Elimelech’s family.

²One day Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, “I am going to the fields. Maybe someone will be kind enough to let me gather the grain he leaves behind.”

Naomi said, “Go, my daughter.”

³So Ruth went to the fields and gathered the grain that the workers cutting the grain had left behind. It just so happened that the field belonged to Boaz, from Elimelech’s family.

⁴Soon Boaz came from Bethlehem and greeted his workers, “The Lord be with you!”

And the workers answered, “May the Lord bless you!”

⁵Then Boaz asked his servant in charge of the workers, “Whose girl is that?”

⁶The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷She said, ‘Please let me follow the workers cutting grain and gather what they leave behind.’ She came and has remained here, from morning until just now. She has stopped only a few moments to rest in the shelter.”

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to gather grain for yourself in another field. Don’t even leave this field at all, but continue following closely behind my women workers. ⁹Watch to see into which fields they go to cut grain and follow them. I have warned the young men not to bother you. When you are thirsty, you may go and drink from the water jugs that the young men have filled.”

¹⁰Then Ruth bowed low with her face to the ground and said to him, “I am not an Israelite. Why have you been so kind to notice me?”

¹¹Boaz answered her, “I know about all the help you have given your mother-in-law after your husband died. You left your father and mother and your own country to come to a nation where you did not know anyone. ¹²May the Lord reward you for all you have done. May your wages be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for shelter.”

¹³Then Ruth said, “I hope I can continue to please you, sir. You have said kind and encouraging words to me, your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

¹⁴At mealtime Boaz told Ruth, “Come here. Eat some of our bread and dip it in our sauce.”

So Ruth sat down beside the workers. Boaz handed her some roasted grain, and she ate until she was full; she even had some food left over. ¹⁵When Ruth rose and went back to work, Boaz commanded his workers, “Let her gather even around the piles of cut grain. Don’t tell her to go away. ¹⁶In fact, drop some full heads of grain for her from what you have in your hands, and let her gather them. Don’t tell her to stop.”

¹⁷So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the grain from the chaff, and there was about one-half bushel of barley. ¹⁸Ruth carried the grain into town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also took out the food that was left over from lunch and gave it to Naomi.

¹⁹Naomi asked her, “Where did you gather all this grain today? Where did you work? Blessed be whoever noticed you!”

Ruth told her mother-in-law whose field she had worked in. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”

²⁰Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “The Lord bless him! He continues to be kind to us—both the living and the dead!” Then Naomi told Ruth, “Boaz is one of our close relatives, ⁿ one who should take care of us.”

²¹Then Ruth, the Moabite, said, “Boaz also told me, ‘Keep close to my workers until they have finished my whole harvest.’ ”

²²But Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is better for you to continue working with his women workers. If you work in another field, someone might hurt you.” ²³So Ruth continued working closely with the workers of Boaz, gathering grain until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were finished. And she continued to live with Naomi, her mother-in-law.

Naomi’s Plan

3Then Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a suitable home for you, one that will be good for you. ²Now Boaz, whose young women you worked with, is our close relative. ⁿ Tonight he will be working at the threshing floor. ³Wash yourself, put on perfume, change your clothes, and go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let him know you’re there until he has finished his dinner. ⁴Watch him so you will know where he lies down to sleep. When he lies down, go and lift the cover off his feet ⁿ and lie down. He will tell you what you should do.”

⁵Then Ruth answered, “I will do everything you say.”

⁶So Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did all her mother-in-law told her to do. ⁷After his evening meal, Boaz felt good and went to sleep lying beside the pile of grain. Ruth went to him quietly and lifted the cover from his feet and lay down.

⁸About midnight Boaz was startled and rolled over. There was a woman lying near his feet! ⁹Boaz asked, “Who are you?”

She said, “I am Ruth, your servant girl. Spread your cover over me, because you are a relative who is supposed to take care of me.” ⁿ

¹⁰Then Boaz said, “The Lord bless you, my daughter. This act of kindness is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You didn’t look for a young man to marry, either rich or poor. ¹¹Now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do everything you ask, because all the people in our town know you are a good woman. ¹²It is true that I am a relative who is to take care of you, but you have a closer relative than I. ¹³Stay here tonight, and in the morning we will see if he will take care of you. If he decides to take care of you, that is fine. But if he refuses, I will take care of you myself, as surely as the Lord lives. So stay here until morning.”

¹⁴So Ruth stayed near his feet until morning but got up while it was still too dark to recognize anyone. Boaz thought, “People in town must not know that the woman came here to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵So Boaz said to Ruth, “Bring me your shawl and hold it open.”

So Ruth held her shawl open, and Boaz poured six portions of barley into it. Boaz then put it on her head and went back to the city.

¹⁶When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did you do, my daughter?”

Ruth told Naomi everything that Boaz did for her. ¹⁷She said, “Boaz gave me these six portions of barley, saying, ‘You must not go home without a gift for your mother-in-law.’ ”

¹⁸Naomi answered, “Ruth, my daughter, wait here until you see what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do today.”