Ruth 2:22
in Ruth 2And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Ruth 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Naomi said unto Ruth . . . It is good . . . that thou go out with his maidens--a prudent recommendation to Ruth to accept the generous invitation of Boaz, lest, if she were seen straying into other fields, she might not only run the risk of rude treatment, but displease him by seeming indifferent to his kind liberality.
This site's exposition
Then Ruth the Moabitess said
on Ruth 2:21-23
Ruth reports Boaz as saying "Stay with my young men", where verse 8 has him name his servant girls, and Naomi steers her back toward the young women. The closing clause, "until the barley and wheat harvests were finished", spans the wave sheaf to the Feast of Weeks in Leviticus 23:10-16, about seven weeks. Chapter 3 opens with Naomi as the one who moves.
This site's exposition
it is good for you to work with his young women
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Naomi's advice as prudence on two counts: Ruth's safety, and the goodwill of Boaz, who might take offense if she went elsewhere. The verb for harm can mean to be set upon. Naomi knows the fields better than Ruth does.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
): " Let them not meet thee in any other field, for that will be construed a contempt of his courtesy." Our blessed Saviour is our Goel; it is he that has a right to redeem.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), " It is good that thou go out with his maidens; they are fitter company for thee than the young men. " But they are too critical. Ruth spoke of the young men because they were the principal labourers, and to them Boaz had given directions concerning her; and Naomi takes it for granted that, while she attended the young men, her society would be with the maidens, as was fit.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law,....
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֥אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נָעֳמִ֖י | noomi | Naomi | H5281 → | 21 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| ר֣וּת | rut | Ruth | H7327 → | 12 times |
| כַּלָּתָ֑הּ | kalatah | daughter-in-law her | H3618 → | 34 times |
| ט֣וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בִּתִּ֗י | biti | O daughter my | H1323 → | 588 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֵֽצְאִי֙ | tetzei | you will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| נַ֣עֲרוֹתָ֔יו | naarotav | female servants his | H5291 → | 63 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִפְגְּעוּ־ | yifgeu- | people will molest | H6293 → | |
| בָ֖ךְ | vakh | <in> <the> you | ||
| בְּשָׂדֶ֥ה | besadeh | in a field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| אַחֵֽר׃ | ʾacher | another | H312 → |
וַתֹּ֥אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
נָעֳמִ֖יNaomi
noomiH5281 →21 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
ר֣וּתRuth
rutH7327 →12 times
כַּלָּתָ֑הּdaughter-in-law her
kalatahH3618 →34 times
ט֣וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
בִּתִּ֗יO daughter my
bitiH1323 →588 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
תֵֽצְאִי֙you will go out
tetzeiH3318 →1067 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
נַ֣עֲרוֹתָ֔יוfemale servants his
naarotavH5291 →63 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִפְגְּעוּ־people will molest
yifgeu-H6293 →
בָ֖ךְ<in> <the> you
vakh
בְּשָׂדֶ֥הin a field
besadehH7704 →334 times
אַחֵֽר׃another
ʾacherH312 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 27:10Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
- Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
- Luke 10:30–37
Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him…
- 1 Kings 12:6–8
Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.
- Proverbs 19:7
All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.
- Proverbs 18:24
Through
Song of Solomon 1:8If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 6:1
Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.
- Song of Solomon 5:9
How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so?
- Hebrews 11:4–40
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- Song of Solomon 6:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ruth
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.