# Ruth 2.23 **Book:** [Ruth](/codex/ruth/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 21. And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yea, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. 22. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they meet thee not in any other field. > > **23. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.** (Ruth 2:21-23, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 21. Ruth the Moabitess said, “Yes, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close to my young men, until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22. Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.” > > **23. So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.** (Ruth 2:21-23, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 21. And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. 22. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. meet: or, fall upon thee > > **23. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.** (Ruth 2:21-23, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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.** (Ruth 2:21-23, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** the narrator of Ruth, an anonymous storyteller - **Audience:** the readers of the book - **Location:** the fields of Boaz and Naomi's home in Beth-lehem (Ruth 2:23) - **Time period:** the period of the judges (Ruth 1:1), "unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest" (2:23) ## Theological reading "So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law." The verse covers the whole harvest season and closes chapter 2. "Kept fast" is Strong's H1692 in the KJV, the same verb as Ruth "clave" to Naomi (1:14) and Boaz's instruction to "abide here fast by my maidens" (2:8). Ruth's clinging loyalty now has a safe place to work. The final clause, "she dwelt with her mother-in-law," keeps Ruth's first commitment at the center. The harvest provides for both women, but it also passes without a resolution to Naomi's lack of an heir, which sets up Naomi's plan in chapter 3. ## 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._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## 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.