Boaz Meets Ruth 1 UDB There was a man named Boaz who lived in Bethlehem. He was a relative of Naomi's dead husband Elimelek. He was also rich and influential. BSB BSB: Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2 UDB One day Ruth said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the stalks of grain that the harvesters leave behind. I will go behind any harvester who gives me permission." Naomi replied, "Go ahead, my daughter." BSB BSB: And 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.
3 UDB So Ruth went out to the fields and began to pick up the grain left behind by the men who were harvesting. And it turned out that she was working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law Elimelek! BSB BSB: So 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.
4 UDB Just then, Boaz returned from town. He greeted the harvesters, saying, "May Yahweh be with you!" They replied, "May Yahweh bless you!" BSB BSB: Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
5 UDB Then Boaz saw Ruth and asked the foreman, "Who is that young woman related to?" BSB BSB: And Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 UDB The foreman replied, "She is the woman from Moab who returned from there with her mother-in-law Naomi. BSB BSB: The foreman answered, “She is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
7 UDB She said to me, 'Please let me pick up some grain. I will only walk behind the men who are harvesting the grain and gather what they leave.' I gave her permission, and she has been working in the field from this morning until now. She has only taken a short rest, when she rested in the shelter." BSB BSB: She 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.”
8 UDB Then Boaz went over to Ruth and said to her, "Young lady, listen to me. You do not need to go to any other field to gather grain. You should stay here with my servant girls. BSB BSB: Then 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.
9 UDB Watch where the men are harvesting, and follow along behind my servant girls. I have told the men who are harvesting not to bother you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get some water to drink from the jars that the men have filled." BSB BSB: Let 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.”
10 UDB When he said that, she knelt before him with her face touching the ground. She exclaimed, "Why are you being so kind to me? I did not think you would pay any attention to me since I am a foreigner!" BSB BSB: At 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?”
11 UDB Boaz replied, "People have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. They told me that you left your parents and your homeland, and you came here to live among people whom you did not know. BSB BSB: Boaz 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.
12 UDB I pray that Yahweh will repay you for what you have done. May you receive full payment for your actions from the God of Israel because he is the one you have come to and he will protect you!" BSB BSB: May 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.”
13 UDB She replied, "Sir, I hope I will continue to please you. You have comforted me with your kindness, even though I am not even one of your servant girls." BSB BSB: “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.”
14 UDB When it was time to eat, Boaz said to her, "Come over here and get some food. Take this bread and dip it in the vinegar and eat it." Then when she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all that she wanted and had some left over. BSB BSB: At 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.
15 UDB As she stood up to go back to work, Boaz ordered his workers, "Even if she gathers some grain near the bundles of grain that have been cut, do not try to stop her. BSB BSB: When Ruth got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, do not insult her.
16 UDB Instead, make sure that you pull out some stalks of grain from the bundles and leave them on the ground for her to pick up, and do not scold her." BSB BSB: Rather, pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.”
17 UDB So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley that she had gathered, to separate the kernels from the stalks, and the barley filled a large basket. BSB BSB: So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was about an ephah of barley.
18 UDB She carried it back to town and showed her mother-in-law how much she had gathered. She also gave her mother-in-law the grain that was left over from her lunch. BSB BSB: She 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.
19 UDB Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you gather all this grain today? In whose field exactly did you work? May God do good to the man who was so kind to you." Then Ruth told her about where she had been working. She said, "The name of that field's owner is Boaz." BSB BSB: Then 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.
20 UDB Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May Yahweh bless him! He has not stopped acting kindly toward us, who are still living, and to our husbands who have died." Then she added, "That man is a close relative of Elimelek; in fact, he is one of those responsible for taking care of us." BSB BSB: Then 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.”
21 UDB Then Ruth said, "He also said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they have completed bringing in all my grain from the field.'" BSB BSB: Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished gathering all my harvest.’”
22 UDB Naomi replied, "My daughter, it will be good for you to go to his field with his servant girls because if you go to someone else's field, someone might harm you." BSB BSB: And 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.”
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