17. So Ruth picked up grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the barley from the straw. It amounted to more than half a bushel.
18. She carried it back to town. Her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out the food that was left over from the lunch Boaz had given her. She gave it to Naomi.
19. Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you pick up grain today? Where did you work? May the man who noticed you be blessed!" Then Ruth told her about the man whose field she had worked in. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20. "May the Lord bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "The Lord is still being kind to those who are living and those who are dead." She continued, "That man is a close relative of ours. He's one of our family protectors."
21. Then Ruth, who was from Moab, said, "He told me more. He even said, 'Stay with my workers until they have finished bringing in all of my grain.' "
22. Naomi replied to her daughter-in-law Ruth. She said, "That will be good for you, my daughter. Go with his female servants. You might be harmed if you go to someone else's field."