Ruth Meets Boaz

2 There was a ^(A)relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of ^(B)Elimelech. His name was ^(C)Boaz. ² So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the ^(D)field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

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

⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from ^(E)Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, ^(F)“The Lord be with you!”

And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶ So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman ^(G)who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

¹⁰ So she ^(H)fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found ^(I)favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

¹¹ And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, ^(J)all that you have done for your mother-in-law since 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 before. ^12 (K)The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, ^(L)under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

¹³ Then she said, ^(M)“Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken ^[a]kindly to your maidservant, ^(N)though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

¹⁴ Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and ^(O)was satisfied, and kept some back. ¹⁵ And when she rose up to ^[b]glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ^[c]reproach her. ¹⁶ Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of ^(P)barley. ¹⁸ Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her ^(Q)what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

¹⁹ And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who ^(R)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.”

²⁰ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ^(S)“Blessed be he of the Lord, who ^(T)has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, ^(U)one of ^[d]our close relatives.”

²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”

²² And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not ^[e]meet you in any other field.” ²³ So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ^(V)shall I not seek ^(W)security^[f] for you, that it may be well with you? ² Now Boaz, ^(X)whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³ Therefore wash yourself and ^(Y)anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. ⁷ And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^(Z)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. ^(AA)Take^[g] your maidservant under your wing, for you are ^(AB)a ^[h]close relative.”

¹⁰ Then he said, ^(AC)“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ^(AD)at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a ^(AE)virtuous woman. ¹² Now it is true that I am a ^(AF)close relative; however, ^(AG)there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ^(AH)perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, ^(AI)as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, ^(AJ)“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Also he said, “Bring the ^[i]shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then ^[j]she went into the city.

¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ^[k]“Is that you, my daughter?”

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

¹⁸ Then she said, ^(AK)“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”