1. Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.
2. 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.”
3. So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.
4. While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The lord be with you!” he said.“The lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.
5. Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
6. And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi.