Ruth 2:4-17

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.’

13Ruth said, ‘Thank you, sir. You are being very kind to me. Your words cause me to feel happy and strong. I am not even as important as one of your servant girls, but you have been kind to me.’

14When it was time to eat a meal, Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Come here and eat with us. Take some bread and mix it with the wine.’ So Ruth sat down to eat with the workers. Boaz gave her some grain that someone had cooked. She ate all that she wanted, and she still had some with her.

15After the meal, Ruth returned to work in the field. Boaz said to his workers, ‘Let her pick up grains anywhere, even near the heaps of barley that you have cut down. Do not chase her away.

16You should also pull out some barley and drop it for her to pick up. Do not be angry with her.’

17Ruth picked up grains in Boaz's field until evening. Then she hit the grains with a stick so that the seeds came out. The grains of barley that she took home filled a large basket.