New International Version
Ruth 2:9
9Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
Ruth 2:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
Context of Ruth 2:9
7She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” 8So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” 10At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” 11Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
Read all of Ruth 2Ruth 2:9 word by word
עֵינַ֜יִךְ בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה אֲשֶׁר־יִקְצֹרוּן֙ וְהָלַ֣כְתִּ אַחֲרֵיהֶ֔ן הֲל֥וֹא צִוִּ֛יתִי אֶת־הַנְּעָרִ֖ים לְבִלְתִּ֣י נָגְעֵ֑ךְ וְצָמִ֗ת וְהָלַכְתְּ֙ אֶל־הַכֵּלִ֔ים וְשָׁתִ֕ית מֵאֲשֶׁ֥ר יִשְׁאֲב֖וּן הַנְּעָרִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- thine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- on the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- that they do reapקָצַרqâtsar · to reapH7114
- and goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: followH1980
- thou afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- them: have I not chargedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
- the young menנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
- that they shall not touchנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- thee? and when thou art athirstצָמֵאtsâmê' · to thirstH6770
- goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- unto the vesselsכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
- and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- have drawnשָׁאַבshâ'ab · to drawH7579
Cross-references for Ruth 2:9
- Genesis 20:6Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
- Job 19:21“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
- Psalms 105:15“Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
- Proverbs 6:29So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
- 1 Corinthians 7:1Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”
- 1 John 5:18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.
- Genesis 24:18“Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
- Matthew 10:42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
- John 4:7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
Commentaries on Ruth 2:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The young men that they shall not touch thee - This was peculiarly necessary, as she was a stranger and unprotected.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9After them - i. e. “after my maidens.” The fields not being divided by hedges, but only by unplowed ridges, it would be easy for her to pass off Boaz‘s land without being aware of it, and so find herself among strangers where Boaz could not protect her.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-16Verses 4-16 The pious and kind language between Boaz and his reapers shows that there were godly persons in Israel. Such language as this is seldom heard in our field; too often, on the contrary, what is immoral and corrupt. A stranger would form a very different opinion of our land, from that which Ruth would form of Israel from the converse and conduct of Boaz and his reapers. But true religion will teach a man to behave aright in all states and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9Boaz gave Ruth the special privilege of gleaning right behind the young women. After the men cut the grain and tied it in small bundles, the women gathered the bundles into larger sheaves. The Torah did not require farmers to allow gleaners into the fields until they took the sheaves to the threshing floor. I have ordered the young men not to touch you: Boaz assured Ruth that no one under his authority would taunt her or try to drive her away from his…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-98-9. said Boaz unto Ruth, ... bide here fast by my maidens--The reaping was performed by women while the assortment of sheaves was the duty of men-servants. The same division of harvest labor obtains in Syria still. Boaz not only granted to Ruth the full privilege of gleaning after his reapers, but provided for her personal comfort.Read the comment
Topics related to Ruth 2:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ruth 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries