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.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ruth 2:4-23
Commentary on Ruth 2:4-16
(Read Ruth 2:4-16)
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.
Commentary on Ruth 2:17-23
(Read Ruth 2:17-23)
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, which we have gained for our souls' good, 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.