Ruth 2

1 And Naomi hath an acquaintance of her husband's, a man mighty in wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name [is] Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess saith unto Naomi, `Let me go, I pray thee, into the field, and I gather among the ears of corn after him in whose eyes I find grace;' and she saith to her, `Go, my daughter.'

3 And she goeth and cometh and gathereth in a field after the reapers, and her chance happeneth -- the portion of the field is Boaz's who [is] of the family of Elimelech.

4 And lo, Boaz hath come from Beth-Lehem, and saith to the reapers, `Jehovah [is] with you;' and they say to him, `Jehovah doth bless thee.'

5 And Boaz saith to his young man who is set over the reapers, `Whose [is] this young person?'

6 And the young man who is set over the reapers answereth and saith, `A young woman -- Moabitess -- she [is], who came back with Naomi from the fields of Moab,

7 and she saith, Let me glean, I pray thee -- and I have gathered among the sheaves after the reapers; and she cometh and remaineth since the morning and till now; she sat in the house a little.

8 And Boaz saith unto Ruth, `Hast thou not heard, my daughter? go not to glean in another field, and also, pass not over from this, and thus thou dost cleave to my young women:

9 thine eyes [are] on the field which they reap, and thou hast gone after them; have not I charged the young men not to touch thee? when thou art athirst then thou hast gone unto the vessels, and hast drunk from that which the young men draw.'

10 And she falleth on her face, and boweth herself to the earth, and saith unto him, `Wherefore have I found grace in thine eyes, to discern me, and I a stranger?'

11 And Boaz answereth and saith to her, `It hath thoroughly been declared to me all that thou hast done with thy mother-in-law, after the death of thy husband, and thou dost leave thy father, and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and dost come in unto a people which thou hast not known heretofore.

12 Jehovah doth recompense thy work, and thy reward is complete from Jehovah, God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast come to take refuge.'

13 And she saith, `Let me find grace in thine eyes, my lord, because thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken unto the heart of thy maid-servant, and I -- I am not as one of thy maid-servants.'

14 And Boaz saith to her, `At meal-time come nigh hither, and thou hast eaten of the bread, and dipped thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sitteth at the side of the reapers, and he reacheth to her roasted corn, and she eateth, and is satisfied, and leaveth.

15 And she riseth to glean, and Boaz chargeth his young men, saying, `Even between the sheaves she doth glean, and ye do not cause her to blush;

16 and also ye do surely cast to her of the handfuls -- and have left, and she hath gleaned, and ye do not push against her.'

17 And she gleaneth in the field till the evening, and beateth out that which she hath gleaned, and it is about an ephah of barley;

18 and she taketh [it] up, and goeth into the city, and her mother-in-law seeth that which she hath gleaned, and she bringeth out and giveth to her that which she left from her satiety.

19 And her mother-in-law saith to her, `Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? may he who is discerning thee be blessed.' And she declareth to her mother-in-law with whom she hath wrought, and saith, `The name of the man with whom I have wrought to-day [is] Boaz.'

20 And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law, `Blessed [is] he of Jehovah who hath not forsaken His kindness with the living and with the dead;' and Naomi saith to her, `The man is a relation of ours; he [is] of our redeemers.'

21 And Ruth the Moabitess saith, `Also he surely said unto me, Near the young people whom I have thou dost cleave till they have completed the whole of the harvest which I have.'

22 And Naomi saith unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, `Good, my daughter, that thou goest out with his young women, and they come not against thee in another field.'

23 And she cleaveth to the young women of Boaz to glean, till the completion of the barley-harvest, and of the wheat-harvest, and she dwelleth with her mother-in-law.

Ruth 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz. (1-3) The kindness of Boaz to Ruth. (4-16) Ruth returns to her mother-in-law. (17-23)

Verses 1-3 Observe Ruth's humility. When Providence had made her poor, she cheerfully stoops to her lot. High spirits will rather starve than stoop; not so Ruth. Nay, it is her own proposal. She speaks humbly in her expectation of leave to glean. We may not demand kindness as a debt, but ask, and take it as a favour, though in a small matter. Ruth also was an example of industry. She loved not to eat the bread of idleness. This is an example to young people. Diligence promises well, both for this world and the other. We must not be shy of any honest employment. No labour is a reproach. Sin is a thing below us, but we must not think any thing else so, to which Providence call us. She was an example of regard to her mother, and of trust in Providence. God wisely orders what seem to us small events; and those that appear altogether uncertain, still are directed to serve his own glory, and the good of his people.

Verses 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 conditions; it will form kind masters and faithful servants, and cause harmony in families. True religion will cause mutual love and kindness among persons of different ranks. It had these effects on Boaz and his men. When he came to them he prayed for them. They did not, as soon as he was out of hearing curse him, as some ill-natured servants that hate their master's eye, but they returned his courtesy. Things are likely to go on well where there is such good-will as this between masters and servants. They expressed their kindness to each other by praying one for another. Boaz inquired concerning the stranger he saw, and ordered her to be well treated. Masters must take care, not only that they do no hurt themselves, but that they suffer not their servants and those under them to do wrong. Ruth humbly owned herself unworthy of favours, seeing she was born and brought up a heathen. It well becomes us all to think humbly of ourselves, esteeming others better than ourselves. And let us, in the kindness of Boaz to Ruth, note the kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ to poor sinners.

Verses 17-23 It encourages industry, that in all labour, even that of gleaning, there is profit. Ruth was pleased with what she gained by her own industry, and was careful to secure it. Let us thus take care that we lose not those things which we have wrought, ( 2 John. 1:8 ) should examine their children, as Naomi did, not to frighten or discourage them, so as to make them hate home, or tempt them to tell a lie; but to commend them if they have done well, and with mildness to reprove and caution them if they have done otherwise. It is a good question for us to ask ourselves every night, Where have I gleaned to-day? What improvement have I made in knowledge and grace? What have I done that will turn to a good account? When the Lord deals bountifully with us, let us not be found in any other field, nor seeking for happiness and satisfaction in the creature. We lose Divine favours, if we slight them. Ruth dutifully observed her mother's directions. And when the harvest was ended, she kept her aged mother company at home. Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land; her vanity ended in disgrace, ( Genesis 34 ) . Ruth kept at home, and helped to maintain her mother, and went out on no other errand than to get provision for her; her humility and industry ended in preferment.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO RUTH 2

In this chapter we have an account of Ruth's gleaning corn in the fields of Boaz, a relation of Naomi, Ru 2:1-3, and of Boaz coming to his reapers, whom he saluted in a very kind manner; and observing a woman gleaning after them, inquired of them who she was, and they informed him, Ru 2:4-9, upon which he addressed himself to her, and gave her leave to glean in his field, and desired her to go nowhere else, and bid her eat and drink with his servants, Ru 2:8-14 and gave directions to his servants to let her glean, and to let fall some of the handfuls on purpose, that she might gather them up, Ru 2:15-17 and then an account is given of her returning to her mother-in-law with her gleanings, to whom she related where she had gleaned, who was owner of the field, and what he had said to her, upon which Naomi gave her advice, Ru 2:18-23.