2
Ruth met Boaz
1 At that time there was a man living in Bethlehem and his name was Boaz. He was an important man from the same clan as Naomi's husband, Elim-elek (Elimelech).
2 One day, Ruth the young woman from Mo-ab, said to Naomi, “Can I go to the paddocks where they grow the barley grass? Someone might be kind to me and let me pick up some of the grass that has dropped onto the ground.”
And Naomi said, “Yes, go and do that my daughter.”
3 So Ruth went to a paddock where some workers were cutting the barley grass and she started to pick up the grass that had fallen onto the ground. Ruth didn't know that the paddock belonged to Boaz who was a close relation for Elim-elek.
4 Later on, Boaz went out from Bethlehem and walked to his paddock.
When he got near to his workers he said, “I pray that the Lord is close to all of you today.”
And the workers said back to him, “We pray that the Lord will be good to you.”
This is how people said hello to one another in those days.
5 Then Boaz said to the leader of the workers, “Who is that young woman? What family does she come from?”
6 The leader said, “She is the young woman from Mo-ab that came back with Naomi. 7 This morning she came and said to me, ‘Can I follow behind your workers and pick up the barley grass that has dropped onto the ground?’
She has worked very hard all morning and she has only stopped to have a short rest under our tent.”
8 So Boaz walked over to Ruth and said to her in a friendly way, “I want you to listen to me. I would like you to stay in my paddocks to pick up the barley grass. Stay close to my women workers and do not go to paddocks that belong to someone else. 9 You must watch where my women are working and follow along behind them. I have told my men workers to leave you alone. And when you get thirsty, get a drink from those billycans my men have filled with water.”
10 Ruth got down on her knees in front of Boaz and put her face close to the ground to show him respect. She said, “Why are you so good to me? I am a stranger in this country.”
11 Boaz said, “Yes, I know you are a stranger, but people have told me that you have been very good to your mother-in-law after her husband died. You left your country, and you left your mother and your father to come to this country where you do not know anyone. 12 You have come into God's country and he will look after you just like a mother bird looks after her babies and puts them under her wings. I pray that the Lord will be good to you for all the good things you have done for Naomi.”
13 Ruth said to him, “Thank you my master, I know that I am not one of your workers but you have said kind words to me and now I feel happy.”
14 When it was time to eat, Boaz said to Ruth, “Come over here and sit with us. Come and have something to eat. Take some of this bread and put some nice sauce on it.”
So she sat down and ate with the workers, and Boaz gave her some cooked seeds to eat. She ate as much as she wanted and then kept the rest for later.
15 When they finished eating, Ruth got up and went back to work.
Then Boaz said to the men cutting the grass, “When you tie up the long barley grass, let that young woman pick up the grass on the ground and do not try to stop her. 16 And when you have tied up the grass, pull some of it out and drop it on the ground so that she can have it. Do not tell her to stop.”
17 Ruth worked hard until the sun went down. She took all the barley grass that she had picked up and then she hit it with a stick to make the seeds fall off. When Ruth had finished hitting the grass, there were so many seeds that she filled up a really big billycan. 18 Then she carried the seeds back to the town and showed them to Naomi. And she gave Naomi the cooked seeds she saved from the meal that she had in the middle of the day.
19 Naomi asked Ruth, “Where did you get all these seeds? Where did you work today? I pray that God is good to the person that let you have this food.”
Ruth said to Naomi, “I have been working in a paddock that belongs to Boaz.”
20 Straight away Naomi said, “I want the Lord to bless Boaz and do good things for him. The Lord always keeps his promise to people that are alive and to people who are dead. Yes, I want him to do good things for Boaz.”
Naomi said to Ruth, “Boaz is a close relation for us. In our culture he is someone that has to look after us.”
21 Then Ruth, the young woman from Mo-ab, said, “Boaz told me to stay close to his workers every day until they have finished cutting the grass and all the seeds are put into his shed.”
22 And Naomi said, “Yes, that is a good idea my daughter. It is much better that you stay with his women workers. If you went to work in another person's paddock, somebody might do the wrong thing to you.” 23 So, Ruth lived with Naomi and went to work every day until all the long grass was cut and the barley and other food seeds were put into the shed. And she did what she was told, she stayed close to the women that worked for Boaz.