12. May the Lord reward you for what you have done. May you have a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, to whom you have come for protection!”
13. Ruth answered, “You are very kind to me, sir. You have made me feel better by speaking gently to me, even though I am not the equal of one of your servants.”
14. At mealtime Boaz said to Ruth, “Come and have a piece of bread, and dip it in the sauce.” So she sat with the workers, and Boaz passed some roasted grain to her. She ate until she was satisfied, and she still had some food left over.
15-16. After she had left to go on picking up corn, Boaz ordered the workers, “Let her pick it up even where the bundles are lying, and don't say anything to stop her. Besides that, pull out some corn from the bundles and leave it for her to pick up.”
17. So Ruth went on gathering corn in the field until evening, and when she had beaten it out, she found she had nearly ten kilogrammes.
18. She took the corn back into town and showed her mother-in-law how much she had gathered. She also gave her the food left over from the meal.
19. Naomi asked her, “Where did you gather all this? Whose field have you been working in? May God bless the man who took an interest in you!”So Ruth told Naomi that she had been working in a field belonging to a man named Boaz.
20. “May the Lord bless Boaz!” Naomi exclaimed. “The Lord always keeps his promises to the living and the dead.” And she went on, “That man is a close relative of ours, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”
21. Then Ruth said, “Best of all, he told me to keep picking up corn with his workers until they finish the harvest.”
22. Naomi said to Ruth, “Yes, my daughter, it will be better for you to work with the women in Boaz' field. You might be molested if you went to someone else's field.”
23. So Ruth worked with them and gathered corn until all the barley and wheat had been harvested. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law.