^2:15When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told⁶⁵ his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among⁶⁶ the bundles! Don’t chase her off!⁶⁷^2:16Make sure you pull out⁶⁸ ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!”⁶⁹^2:17So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed⁷⁰ what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds⁷¹ of barley!

Ruth Returns to Naomi

^2:18She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw⁷² how much grain⁷³ she had gathered. Then Ruth⁷⁴ gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime.⁷⁵^2:19Her mother-in-law asked her,⁷⁶ “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!”⁷⁷ So Ruth⁷⁸ told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

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Footnotes

65 Or “commanded” (so , , ).
66 Heb “even between”; “even around.”
67 Heb “do not humiliate her”; cf. “reproach her not”; “do not insult her”; “don’t embarrass her.” This probably refers to a verbal rebuke which would single her out and embarrass her (see v. 16). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (), , and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (), .
68 The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis. Here שָׁלַל (shalal, “pull out”) is a homonym of the more common Hebrew verb meaning “to plunder.” An Arabic cognate is used of drawing a sword out of a scabbard (see 1021 ).
69 Heb “do not rebuke her” (so , ); “don’t speak harshly to her”; “don’t give her a hard time.”
70 Heb “she beat out” (so , , , ). Ruth probably used a stick to separate the kernels of grain from the husks. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
71 Heb “there was an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure, equivalent to one-tenth of a homer (see אֵיפָה). An ephah was equivalent to a “bath,” a liquid measure. Jars labeled “bath” found at archaeological sites in Israel could contain approximately 5.8 gallons, or one-half to two-thirds of a bushel. Thus an ephah of barley would have weighed about 29 to 30 pounds (just over 13 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (), . This was a huge amount of barley for one woman to gather in a single day. It testifies both to Ruth’s industry and to Boaz’s generosity.
72 vocalizes ותרא as the Qal verb וַתֵּרֶא (vattere’, “and she saw”), consequently of “her mother-in-law” as subject and “what she gathered” as the direct object: “her mother-in-law saw what she gathered.” A few medieval Hebrew (also reflected in and ) have the Hiphil וַתַּרְא (vattar’, “and she showed”), consequently taking “her mother-in-law” as the direct object and “what she gathered” as the double direct-object: “she showed her mother-in-law what she had gathered” (cf. , , , ). Although the latter has the advantage of making Ruth the subject of all the verbs in this verse, it would be syntactically difficult. For one would expect the accusative sign אֶת (’et) before “her mother-in-law” if it were the direct object of a Hiphil verb in a sentence with a double direct object introduced by the accusative sign אֶת, e.g., “to show (Hiphil of רָאָה, ra’ah) your servant (direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) your greatness (double direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) (Deut 3:24). Therefore the reading is preferred.
73 Heb “that which”; the referent (how much grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
74 Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75 Heb “and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left over from her being satisfied.”
76 Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.
77 Or “blessed” (so , , ). The same expression occurs in the following verse.
78 Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”

So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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

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.”

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

NLTNew Living Translation

When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”

So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket. She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.

“Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”

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

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And she got up to glean, and Boaz instructed his servants saying, “Let her also glean between the sheaves and do not reproach her. And also pull out for her from your bundles and leave it so that she may glean—and do not rebuke her.”

So she gleaned in the field until the evening and she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she picked it up and went to the town. Her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. And she took it out and gave to her what she had left over after being satisfied. And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man who I worked with today is Boaz.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.

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