Ruth 2:21 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:19 And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man`s name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz.

Ruth 2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.

Ruth 2:21 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.

Ruth 2:22 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.

Ruth 2:23 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ruth", "moabitess", "said", "thou", "shalt", "keep", and "fast". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ruth" and "moabitess", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law Blessed..." into verse 22's "And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law...", so "ruth" and "moabitess" 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 "ruth" and "moabitess" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.