Ruth 2:4-12

4Just then, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem town. He said ‘hello’ to the workers. ‘I pray that the Lord will help you,’ he said. The men replied, ‘We pray that the Lord will bless you!’

5Boaz asked the leader of his workers, ‘Who is that young woman? Which family does she belong to?’

6The man said, ‘She is that young woman from Moab, who returned from Moab with Naomi.

7She asked me, “Please let me walk behind your workers. Then I can pick up the grains of barley that they leave on the ground.” She has worked very hard in the field since she arrived this morning. She only had a short rest in the hut.’

8So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Young woman, listen to me. Do not go and pick up grains of barley in any other field. Stay here in this field and work beside my servant girls.

9Watch carefully where the men are working. Then follow behind the other women. I have told the male workers not to touch you. Whenever you are thirsty, go and drink water from the jars. My servants fill those jars with water to drink.’

10Ruth went down on her knees with her head towards the ground in front of Boaz. She said, ‘I am a foreign woman. So why do you choose to be so kind to me? Why are you taking care of me?’

11Boaz replied, ‘People have told me all about you. When your husband died, you helped Naomi very much. You chose to leave your father, your mother and your country. You came here to live with people who were strangers to you.

12You have done many good things. So I pray that the Lord will do good things for you in return. You have come here to be safe with the Lord, who is Israel's God. I pray that he will bless you.’