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Ruth 2:9

in Ruth 2

Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting, and follow along after these girls. Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Ruth 2

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
After them - i. e. “after my maidens.” The fields not being divided by hedges, but only by unplowed ridges, it would be easy for her to pass off Boaz’s land without being aware of it, and so find herself among strangers where Boaz could not protect her.

This site's exposition

Listen, my daughter

on Ruth 2:8-9

Boaz calls her "my daughter", Naomi's word for her at 1:11 and 2:2. He gives her a field to work, his servant girls for company, a charge on the young men, and water she did not draw. "I have ordered the young men not to touch you" states what a foreign widow alone could expect in the generation of Judges 19.

This site's exposition

go and drink from the jars the young men have filled

Albert Barnes notes that fields had no hedges, only unploughed strips, so a gleaner could drift onto a stranger's field without knowing it. Boaz keeps her eyes on his own field and his own girls. His young men draw the water, and she drinks it.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

, drawn from the famous well of Beth-lehem which was by the gate, the water of which David longed for, 2 Sam. xxiii. 15 ), but at meal-time to come and eat of their bread (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

Let thine eyes be upon the field that they do reap, and go thou after them,.... And gather up the loose ears of corn dropped and left by them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? do her no hurt, or offer any incivility or rudeness to her, or even play any wanton tricks with her, as is too common with young persons in the fields at harvest time.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The vessels alluded to were skin bottles, filled with water--and the bread was soaked in vinegar (Ru 2:14); a kind of poor, weak wine, sometimes mingled with a little olive oil--very cooling, as would be required in harvest-time. This grateful refection is still used in the harvest-field.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The young men that they shall not touch thee - This was peculiarly necessary, as she was a stranger and unprotected.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • עֵינַ֜יִךְeyes your

    ʾeinayikhH5869 →887 times

  • בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה[be] on the field

    basadehH7704 →334 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • יִקְצֹרוּן֙they are harvesting !

    yiktzorunH7114 →49 times

  • וְהָלַ֣כְתִּand you will go

    vehalakhtH1980 →1546 times

  • אַחֲרֵיהֶ֔ןbehind them

    ʾachareihenH310 →715 times

  • הֲל֥וֹא¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • צִוִּ֛יתִיhave I commanded

    tzivitiH6680 →494 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַנְּעָרִ֖יםthe young men

    hanearimH5288 →239 times

  • לְבִלְתִּ֣יto not

    leviltiH1115 →112 times

  • נָגְעֵ֑ךְto touch you

    nageekhH5060 →

  • וְצָמִ֗תand you will be thirsty

    vetzamitH6770 →

  • וְהָלַכְתְּ֙and you will go

    vehalakhtH1980 →1546 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַכֵּלִ֔יםthe vessels

    hakelimH3627 →

  • וְשָׁתִ֕יתand you will drink

    veshatitH8354 →217 times

  • מֵאֲשֶׁ֥רsome of [that] which

    measherH834 →5497 times

  • יִשְׁאֲב֖וּןthey will draw !

    yishavunH7579 →

  • הַנְּעָרִֽים׃the young men

    hanearimH5288 →239 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 John 5:18We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.6 worksGenesis 20:6Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.5 works1 Corinthians 7:1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.4 worksProverbs 6:29So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.4 worksPsalms 105:15“Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”4 worksMatthew 10:42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”4 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 24:18–20“Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink.3 worksJob 19:21Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.3 worksJohn 4:7–11When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 John 5:18

    We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.

    it leads to

    • 1 John 3:9

      Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

    • 1 John 5:4

      because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

    • Jude 1:21

      keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

    • Jude 1:24

      Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

    • 1 John 5:1

      Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.

  • Through

    Psalms 105:15

    “Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”

    it leads to

    • Zechariah 2:8

      For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—

    • Genesis 26:11

      So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

    • Genesis 20:7

      Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and…

Where this verse is studied

About Ruth

Ruth and Boaz — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ruth and Boaz — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ruth: the study guide →Read Ruth 2 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ruth 2 →