Chapter 2
1 Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth , of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz .
2 Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi , " Let me now go to the field , and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor ." She said to her , " Go , my daughter ."
3 She went , and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers ; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz , who was of the family of Elimelech.
4 Behold , Boaz came from Bethlehem , and said to the reapers , " May Yahweh be with you ." They answered him , " May Yahweh bless you ."
5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers , " Whose young lady is this ?"
6 The servant who was set over the reapers answered , " It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab .
7 She said, ‘ Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves .’ So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now , except that she rested a little in the house ."
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth , " Listen , my daughter . Don’t go to glean in another field , and don’t go from here , but stay here close to my maidens .
9 Let your eyes be on the field that they reap , and go after them . Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you ? When you are thirsty , go to the vessels , and drink from that which the young men have drawn ."
10 Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground , and said to him , " Why have I found favor in your sight , that you should take knowledge of me , since I am a foreigner ?"
11 Boaz answered her , " I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father, your mother, and the land of your birth , and have come to a people that you didn’t know before .
12 May Yahweh repay your work , and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh , the God of Israel , under whose wings you have come to take refuge ."
13 Then she said , " Let me find favor in your sight , my lord, because you have comforted me , and because you have spoken kindly to your servant , though I am not as one of your servants ."
14 At meal time Boaz said to her , " Come here , and eat some bread , and dip your morsel in the vinegar ." She sat beside the reapers , and they passed her parched grain . She ate, was satisfied , and left some of it .
15 When she had risen up to glean , Boaz commanded his young men , saying, " Let her glean even among the sheaves , and don’t reproach her .
16 Also pull out some for her from the bundles , and leave it . Let her glean , and don’t rebuke her ."
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening ; and she beat out that which she had gleaned , and it was about an ephah of barley .
18 She took it up , and went into the city . Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned ; and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough .
19 Her mother-in-law said to her , "Where have you gleaned today ? Where have you worked ? Blessed be he who noticed you ." She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked , " The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz ."
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law , " May he be blessed by Yahweh , who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead ." Naomi said to her , " The man is a close relative to us , one of our near kinsmen ."
21 Ruth the Moabitess said, " Yes , he said to me , ‘ You shall stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest .’"
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law , " It is good , my daughter , that you go out with his maidens , and that they not harm you in any other field ."
23 So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz , to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest ; and she lived with her mother-in-law .