1 Now Naomi had a kinsman {moda‘: family link} of her husband, a man of mighty valor {chayil: resource and valor} from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabite woman said to Naomi, “Let me go, please, into the field and glean among the stalks {shibbolim: grain heads} after whomever I may find favor {chen: gracious acceptance} in his eyes.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So she went out and came and gleaned {vatelleqet: legal gleaning} in the field after the reapers; and it happened that her chance {mikrehah: unexpected occurrence} led her to a portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.
4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem {beit lekhem: house of bread}, and he said to the reapers, “The LORD {YHWH, Covenant Sustainer} be with you!” And they replied to him, “May the LORD bless you!”
5 Then Boaz said to his young man {na'ar: attendant or servant} who was set over the reapers {hakotzrim: field harvest workers}, “To whom does this young woman belong?”
6 And the young man {na’ar: male servant} who was standing over the reapers answered and said, “She is the Moabite young woman {moaviyyah: foreigner from Moab} who returned with Naomi from the country of Moab.”
7 She said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.” And she came and has stood from the morning until now; her sitting in the house {bayit: sheltering place} was only a little {me’at: brief time}.
8 Then Boaz {Boaz: generous benefactor} said to Ruth, “Have you not heard, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, nor leave this place, but stay here and remain close to my young women {naarotai: female workers}.”
9 Let your eyes rest on the field {sadeh: cultivated area} where they will reap, and follow after them, the young women. Have I not commanded the young men {neʿarim: field workers} not to touch you? And if you are thirsty, you shall go to the vessels and drink from what they have drawn.
10 Then she fell with her face to the ground and bowed low, and she said to him, “Why have I found favor {chen: unmerited kindness} in your eyes that you pay attention to me, though I am a foreign woman {nachriyah: outsider to your people}?”
11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law {chamotekh: husband’s mother} after the death of your husband, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth {moladtekh: native place}, and came to a people whom you did not know before.”
12 May the LORD {YHWH, Reward Bestower} repay you for your deed {pe’alekh: purposeful action}, and may your reward be complete from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.
13 And she said, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord {adoni: honored superior}, for you have comforted {nichamta: brought reassurance} me, and indeed you have spoken to the heart of your servant, though I am not as one of your servant women.”
14 And Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Draw near and eat some bread {lechem: Staple Provision}, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied {sava: Completely Filled}, and she had some left over.
15 And she arose to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men {ne'arav: male servants}, saying, “Let her also glean among the sheaves, and do not shame her {tachlimuha: cause her public humiliation}.”
16 And also, you shall pull out {shol-tasholu: intensive command} for her from the bundles and leave them so that she may glean, and do not rebuke {tig’aru: harsh admonition} her.
17 She gleaned in the field until evening, and she beat out {chabot: struck or threshed} what she had gleaned. The total came to about an ephah {eifah: a standard dry measure} of barley.
18 And she carried it and came to the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned {liqqe-tah: harvest gathering}. Then Ruth brought out and gave to her what she had left over from her satisfaction {save’ah: fullness}.
19 Then her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? May the one who recognized you {makir: took notice} be blessed {barukh: praised}.” So she told her mother-in-law the one with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Upholder}, for He has not forsaken His kindness {chesed: covenant loyalty} to the living and the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is near to us; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
21 And Ruth the Moabite {mo’aviyyah: foreigner from Moab} said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall cling close {tidbaqin: have unwavering attachment} to my young men until they finish all the harvest that is mine.’”
22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women {na‘arôtav: female workers}, so that you will not be harmed {yipge‘u: suffer injury} in another field.”
23 So Ruth {Rut: Moabite daughter-in-law} stayed close to the young women of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley and wheat harvests {ketsir: reaping season}, and she lived with her mother-in-law.