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Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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THE MESSAGE

Ruth 2:2

One day Ruth, the Moabite foreigner, said to Naomi, "I'm going to work; I'm going out to glean among the sheaves, following after some harvester who will treat me kindly." Naomi said, "Go ahead, dear daughter."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Elimelech;   Gleaning;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture;   Agriculture-Horticulture;   Gleaning;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Industry;   Poor, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Poor;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Bethlehem;   Farming;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Contribution;   Favor;   Hospitality;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Glean;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Daughter-In-Law;   Economic Life;   Grace;   Moabitess;   Ruth;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Agriculture;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Gleaning;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Alms;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Gleaning;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Agriculture;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Corn;   Gleaning of the Fields;   Harvest;   Shem Ha-Meforash;   Shibboleth;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for July 27;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone with whom I find favor?”
Hebrew Names Version
Rut the Mo'avite said to Na`omi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. She said to her, Go, my daughter.
King James Version
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
Lexham English Bible
And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after someone in whose eyes I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
English Standard Version
And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
New Century Version
One day Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, "I am going to the fields. Maybe someone will be kind enough to let me gather the grain he leaves behind." Naomi said, "Go, my daughter."
New English Translation
One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields so I can gather grain behind whoever permits me to do so." Naomi replied, "You may go, my daughter."
Amplified Bible
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one [of the reapers] in whose sight I may find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go, my daughter."
New American Standard Bible
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Ruth ye Moabitesse said vnto Naomi, I pray thee, Let mee goe to the fielde, and gather eares of corne after him, in whose sight I finde fauour. And she said vnto her, Goe my daughter.
Legacy Standard Bible
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one whom I may find favor in his eyes." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
Complete Jewish Bible
Rut the woman from Mo'av said to Na‘omi, "Let me go into the field and glean ears of grain behind anyone who will allow me to." She answered her, "Go, my daughter."
Darby Translation
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me, I pray, go to the field and glean among the ears of corn after [him] in whose sight I shall find favour. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
Easy-to-Read Version
One day Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, "I think I will go to the fields. Maybe I can find someone who will be kind to me and let me gather the grain they leave in their field." Naomi said, "Fine, daughter, go ahead."
George Lamsa Translation
And Ruth the Moabitess said to her mother-in-law Naomi, Let me now go to the field and glean ears of wheat after the reapers in whose sight I may find favor. And her mother-in-law said to her, Go, my daughter.
Good News Translation
One day Ruth said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields to gather the grain that the harvest workers leave. I am sure to find someone who will let me work with him." Naomi answered, "Go ahead, daughter."
Literal Translation
And Ruth of Moab said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Ruth the Moabitisse saide vnto Naemi: Let me go in to ye felde, & gather eares of corne, after him, in whose sight I shal finde fauor. She sayde vnto her: Go yi waie my doughter.
American Standard Version
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
Bible in Basic English
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Now let me go into the field and take up the heads of grain after him in whose eyes I may have grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Ruth the Moabitesse sayd vnto Naomi: Let me nowe go to the fielde, & gather eares of corne after any man in whose sight I finde grace. And she sayde vnto her: Go my daughter.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi: 'Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find favour.' And she said unto her: 'Go, my daughter.'
King James Version (1611)
And Ruth the Moabitesse saide vnto Naomi, Let me now goe to the field, and gleane eares of corne after him, in whose sight I shall finde grace. And shee saide vnto her, Goe, my daughter.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Noemin, Let me go now to the field, and I will glean among the ears behind the man with whomsoever I shall find favour: and she said to her, Go, daughter.
English Revised Version
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
Berean Standard Bible
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain behind someone in whose sight I may find favor." "Go ahead, my daughter," Naomi replied.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Ruth of Moab seide to hir modir in lawe, If thou comaundist, Y schal go in to the feeld, and Y schal gadere eeris of corn that fleen the hondis of reperis, where euer Y schal fynde grace of an hosebonde man merciful in me. To whom sche answeride, Go, my douyter.
Young's Literal Translation
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.'
Update Bible Version
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose eyes I shall find favor. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after [him] in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
World English Bible
Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. She said to her, Go, my daughter.
New King James Version
So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
New Living Translation
One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it." Naomi replied, "All right, my daughter, go ahead."
New Life Bible
Ruth, the Moabite woman, said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field to gather grain behind someone who might show favor to me." Naomi said to her, "Go, my daughter."
New Revised Standard
And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor." She said to her, "Go, my daughter."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi - Let me go, I pray thee, to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose eyes I may find favour. And she said to her - Go, my daughter.
Revised Standard Version
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Na'omi, "Let me go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."

Contextual Overview

1 It so happened that Naomi had a relative by marriage, a man prominent and rich, connected with Elimelech's family. His name was Boaz. 2 One day Ruth, the Moabite foreigner, said to Naomi, "I'm going to work; I'm going out to glean among the sheaves, following after some harvester who will treat me kindly." Naomi said, "Go ahead, dear daughter." 3And so she set out. She went and started gleaning in a field, following in the wake of the harvesters. Eventually she ended up in the part of the field owned by Boaz, her father-in-law Elimelech's relative. A little later Boaz came out from Bethlehem, greeting his harvesters, " God be with you!" They replied, "And God bless you!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

glean ears: Leviticus 19:9, Leviticus 19:16, Leviticus 23:22, Deuteronomy 24:19-21

Reciprocal: Genesis 24:15 - pitcher Genesis 32:5 - may find Ruth 2:10 - Why have 2 Samuel 14:22 - I have found Proverbs 31:13 - worketh 1 Timothy 5:4 - to requite

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
Genesis 2:8
Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
Exodus 23:12
"Work for six days and rest the seventh so your ox and donkey may rest and your servant and migrant workers may have time to get their needed rest.
Isaiah 58:13
"If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don't use my holy day for personal advantage, If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, God 's holy day as a celebration, If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,' making money, running here and there— Then you'll be free to enjoy God ! Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all. I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob." Yes! God says so!
John 5:17
But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I."
Hebrews 4:4
When the Promises Are Mixed with Faith For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we'll experience that state of resting. But not if we don't have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." God made that vow, even though he'd finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it's written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work," but in this other text he says, "They'll never be able to sit down and rest." So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David's psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear... And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what. Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi,.... After they had been some little time at Bethlehem, and not long; for they came at the beginning of barley harvest, and as yet it was not over, nor perhaps for some time after this; and knowing and considering the circumstances they were in, and unwilling to live an idle life, and ready to do any thing for the support of her life, and of her ancient mother-in-law; which was very commendable, and showed her to be an industrious virtuous woman: she addressed her, and said:

let me now go to the field; she did not choose to go any where, nor do anything, without her advice and consent; so dutiful and obedient was she to her, and so high an opinion had she of her wisdom and goodness; she desired to go to the field which belonged to Bethlehem, which seems to have been an open field, not enclosed, where each inhabitant had his part, as Boaz, Ruth 2:3 though Jarchi interprets it of one of the fields of the men of the city; hither she asked leave to go, not with any ill intent, nor was she in any danger of being exposed, since it being harvest time the field was full of people: her end in going thither is expressed in the next clause,

and glean ears of corn after him, in whose sight I shall find grace; or "in" or "among the ears of corn" o; between the ears of corn bound up into sheaves, and there pick up the loose ears that were dropped and left. This she proposed to do with the leave of the owner of the field, or of the reapers, whom she followed; she might be ignorant that it was allowed by the law of God that widows and strangers might glean in the field, Leviticus 19:9 or if she had been acquainted with it by Naomi, which is not improbable, such was her modesty and humility, that she did not choose to make use of this privilege without leave; lest, as Jarchi says, she should be chided or reproved, and it is certain she did entreat the favour to glean, Ruth 2:7

and she said unto her, go, my daughter; which shows the necessitous circumstances Naomi was in; though perhaps she might give this leave and direction under an impulse of the Spirit of God, in order to bring about an event of the greatest moment and importance, whereby she became the ancestor of our blessed Lord.

o בשבלים εν τοις σταχυσι, Sept. "in spicis", Montanus, Drusius, Piscator; "inter spicas", De Dieu, Rambachius.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ruth 2:2. Glean ears of corn — The word glean comes from the French glaner, to gather ears or grains of corn. This was formerly a general custom in England and Ireland; the poor went into the fields and collected the straggling ears of corn after the reapers; and it was long supposed that this was their right, and that the law recognized it. But although it has been an old custom, I find that it is now settled, by a solemn judgment in the court of common pleas, that a right to glean in the harvest field cannot be claimed by any person at common law; see Law Dictionary, article gleaning. Any person may permit or prevent it in his own grounds. By the Irish acts, 25 Hen. VIII., c. 1, and 28 Hen. VIII., c. 24, gleaning and leasing are so restricted as to be in fact prohibited in that part of the United Kingdom. See the note on Leviticus 19:9.

After him in whose sight I shall find grace. — She did not mean Boaz; but she purposed to go out where they were now reaping, and glean after any person who might permit her, or use her in a friendly manner. The words seem to intimate that, notwithstanding the law of Moses, the gleaners might be prevented by the owner of the field.


 
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