# Ruth 2.10-11

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-10-13 | updated: 2026-10-13 -->

**Book:** [Ruth](/codex/ruth/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 8. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. 9. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
>
> **10. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found favor in thy sight, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner? 11. And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knewest not heretofore.**
>
> 12. Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge. 13. Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly unto thy handmaid, though I be not as one of thy handmaidens. (Ruth 2:8-13, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 8. Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens. 9. Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”
>
> **10. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11. Boaz answered her, “I have been fully told about all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn’t know before.**
>
> 12. May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13. Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants.” (Ruth 2:8-13, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 8. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: 9. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
>
> **10. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? 11. And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.**
>
> 12. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 13. Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. <sup>Let me: or, I find</sup> <sup>friendly: Heb. to the heart</sup> (Ruth 2:8-13, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 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.' (Ruth 2:8-13, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Ruth (verse 10), then Boaz in reply (verse 11)
- **Audience:** each other, in the hearing of the reapers
- **Location:** the field belonging to Boaz near Beth-lehem (Ruth 2:3)
- **Time period:** the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), during the barley harvest (1:22)

## Theological reading

"Why have I found favor in thy sight, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?" Ruth bows to the ground and asks the question the whole book answers. The KJV tags "take knowledge" as Strong's H5234 and "stranger" as H5237, two words Strong's traces to the same root, so her question has a play on words in Hebrew: why notice one who is foreign? "Favor" is [*chen*](/codex/h2580-chen/) (H2580), the very thing she hoped to find when she set out (2:2).

Boaz answers with what he has heard, not with anything about Moab: "all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knewest not heretofore." The language recalls the call of Abram: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house" ([Genesis 12:1](/codex/genesis-12-1/)). Ruth makes the same kind of departure without a promise spoken to her, on the strength of loyalty to Naomi and to Naomi's God (1:16).

Her standing in Israel rests on her conduct, which is publicly known. Boaz's next words turn that report into a blessing: "Jehovah recompense thy work ... under whose wings thou art come to take refuge" (Ruth 2:12).

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._

- [H2580 - chen](/codex/h2580-chen/), *chen*, Strong's H2580
- [H4194 - mavet](/codex/h4194-mavet/), *mavet*, Strong's H4194
- [H3045 - yada](/codex/h3045-yada/), *yada*, Strong's H3045
- [H0001 - ab](/codex/h0001-ab/), *ab*, Strong's H0001
- [H6213 - asah](/codex/h6213-asah/), *asah*, Strong's H6213

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## Quoted in

**Lexicon:**

- [H2580 - chen](/codex/h2580-chen/), via [Ruth 2.10](/codex/ruth-2-10/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.