Ruth 2

Modern

Literal

Boaz Meets Ruth

¹Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

¹And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, from the family of Elimelech. And His name was Boaz.

²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.”

“Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.

²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me go, please, to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

³So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

³And she went, and she came, and she gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the family of Elimelech.

⁴Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.”

“The LORD bless you,” they replied.

⁴And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “YHWH be with you!” And they answered him, “YHWH blesses you.”

⁵And Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁵And Boaz said to his young man who was set over the reapers, “To whom is this young woman?”

⁶The foreman answered, “She is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.

⁶And the servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, “A young woman, a Moabitess, she is, the one returning with Naomi from a field of Moab.

⁷She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.”

⁷And she said, ‘Let me glean, please, and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ And she came and remained from the morning and until now, though she rested in the house a little.”

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go and glean in another field, and do not go away from this place, but stay here close to my servant girls.

⁸And Boaz said to Ruth, “Will you not listen, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, and also do not go from this place, and thus you shall cling together with my young women.

⁹Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting, and follow along after these girls. Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

⁹Let your eyes be in the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, you shall go to the vessels, and you shall drink from what the young men draw.”

¹⁰At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”

¹⁰And she fell on her face and she bowed herself to the earth and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me though I am a foreigner?”

¹¹Boaz replied, “I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you did not know before.

¹¹And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has surely been declared to me all that you have done with your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know yesterday and the day before yesterday.

¹²May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”

¹²May YHWH repay your work, and may you receive your full wages from YHWH, God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

¹³“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”

¹³And she said, “Let me find favor in your eyes, my lord. For you have comforted me and have spoken to the heart of your maidservant, and I am not like one of your maidservants.”

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

¹⁴And Boaz said to her at the time of food, “Come here and eat from the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” And she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied, and she had some left over.

¹⁵When Ruth got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, do not insult her.

¹⁵And she rose up to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Even among the sheaves let her glean, and do not shame her.

¹⁶Rather, pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.”

¹⁶And also you shall surely draw out for her from the bundles and you shall leave them, and shall let her glean. And you shall not rebuke her.”

¹⁷So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was about an ephah of barley.^a

¹⁷And she gleaned in the field until the evening. And she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

¹⁸She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out what she had saved from her meal and gave it to Naomi.

¹⁸And she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out and gave to her what she had left over from being satisfied.

¹⁹Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.”

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

¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today, and where did you work? May the one 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 with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

²⁰Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”^a

²⁰And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by YHWH, who has not forsaken His kindness with the living and with the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is a relation of ours. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”

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

²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, “Also surely he said to me, ‘With the young men who are to me you shall cling, until that they have finished all the harvest that is unto me.’”

²²And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”

²²And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and they will not fall upon you in another field.”

²³So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

²³And she clung with the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she dwelt with her mother-in-law.