Ruth 2:10 (ASV)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:8 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.

Ruth 2:9 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.

Ruth 2:10 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?

Ruth 2:11 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.

Ruth 2:12 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fell", "face", "bowed", "herself", "ground", "said", "found", and "favor". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fell" and "face", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Let thine eyes be on the field..." into verse 11's "And Boaz answered and said unto her...", so "fell" and "face" belong inside that flow. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fell" and "face" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.