Ruth

The story of Ruth, a loyal woman who becomes part of the Israelite community and the great-grandmother of King David.

Chapter 2

1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

*Naomi had a relative from her husband's side, a very rich man, who belonged to Elimelech's family. His name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

*Ruth, a Moabite woman, told Naomi, "I want to go to the field and collect grain from the crops behind whoever is kind to me." Naomi replied, "Go ahead, my dear."

3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

*She went and arrived at the field where workers were harvesting. She gathered leftover grain after them. By chance, she was in a part of the field owned by Boaz, who was related to Elimelech.

4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.

*And suddenly, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and told the workers, May God be with you. They replied, May God bless you too.

5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

*Then Boaz asked his worker in charge of the harvesters, "Who is this young girl?"

6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

*The worker in charge of the harvesters replied, "It's the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab."

7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

*She asked if she could gather grain behind the harvesters, and they agreed. She has been doing this since early in the day and has only taken a short break at home.

8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

*Then Boaz told Ruth, "Don't you hear me, my dear? Stay in this field and gather crops with my workers, don't leave."

9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

*Keep your eyes on the field so they can harvest, and you follow them. I told the young men not to bother you. When you're thirsty, drink from the containers where the young men have collected water.

10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

*Then she fell on her hands, bent over, and asked, "Why do you notice me, since I'm just a stranger?"

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

*Boaz replied, "I know everything you did for your mother-in-law after your spouse died. I also know you left your parents and homeland to join a people you didn't know before."

12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

*May God pay you back for your efforts and give you a great reward, coming from the Lord God of Israel, who you have sought protection from.

13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.

*Then she said, "Please think kindly of me, my lord, because you have comforted me and been nice to your servant. Even though I'm not like the other servants."

14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

*Boaz told her, "Join me for lunch and eat some bread. Dip your bite in vinegar too." She sat next to the workers, Boaz gave her dry food, she ate, got full, and then left.

15 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 when she stood up to gather grain, Boaz told his helpers, "Let her collect it from the stalks and don't treat her badly."

16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

*And let some of the purposes fall for her too, then leave them so she can gather them, and don't scold her.

17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.

*So, she gathered grain in the field until evening, then separated what she collected, which turned out to be about a large container full of barley.

18 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.

*She picked it up and went into town. Her mother-in-law saw what she had collected. She then brought some out and gave her the portion she had saved for herself after being full.

19 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.

*"Her mother-in-law asked, 'Where did you gather today and who did you work with? Bless the person who found out about you.' She replied, 'I worked with a man named Boaz.'"

20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

*Naomi told her daughter-in-law, "Praised is the person from the Lord who doesn't stop being kind to those living and those who have passed away." She also said to her, "This man is closely related to us, a close family member."

21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

*Ruth, a woman from Moab, said that she was told to work with the young men until they finished gathering all the crops.

22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

*Naomi told Ruth, her daughter-in-law, "It's a good idea for you to go with the servants. That way, you won't encounter any problems in another field."

23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.

*So, she continued to gather grain during both the barley and wheat harvests under Boaz's care, and lived with her mother-in-law.

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