1And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
2And Ruth, the Moabitess, said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of grain behind whomever I shall find grace with.” And Naomi said, “Go, my daughter”.
3And she went, and gleaned in the field behind the reapers; and she happened to come to a portion of the field that belonged to Boaz, a relative of Elimelech.
4And when Boaz came from Bethlehem, he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you”. And they answered him, “The LORD bless you.”
5Then Boaz asked his overseer of the reapers, “Whose damsel is this?”
6And he answered, “It is the Moabitish damsel who came back from the country of Moab with Naomi:
7And she had said, “I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves”. And so, she came, and has continued since the morning until now, except that she rested a little in the house.”
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter: Do not go away from here to glean in another field, but stay here, close by my maidens:
9Observe which fields they reap in, and follow them. I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go to the water jars that the young men have drawn, to get a drink.”
10At this, she fell on her face, and bowed to the ground, and said, “Why have I found grace in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
11And Boaz replied, “It has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother, and the land of your nativity, and have come to a people whom you have never known.
12May the LORD recompense your work, and a full reward be given to you by the LORD God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to trust”.
13Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and you have spoken kindly to your handmaid, though I am not like one of your handmaidens”.
14And Boaz said to her, “At mealtime, come here, and eat some of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar”. And she sat beside the reapers; and he handed her some parched grain, which she ate, and was satisfied, and left.
15And when she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not restrain her;
16And also let some of the handfuls fall on purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and restrain her not”.
17So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah (about 6/10 of a bushel) of barley”.
18And she took it, and went into the city. And her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned; and Ruth also brought out and gave to Naomi what she had saved after eating her meal of roasted grain.
19And her mother-in-law asked her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one that took notice of you”. And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had gathered, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz”.
20And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the LORD bless him, who has not withheld his kindness to the living and to the dead”. And Naomi said to her, “That man is a near relative of ours.”
21And Ruth said, “He also told me, “You shall stay close by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest”.
22And Naomi said to Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, that they meet you not in any other field”.
23So she kept close by the maidens of Boaz to glean until the end of barley and wheat harvests, and dwelt with her mother-in-law. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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