Ruth 2:6 (ASV)

Passage

And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless thee.

Ruth 2:5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

Ruth 2:6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

Ruth 2:7 And she said, Let me glean, I pray you, and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, save that she tarried a little in the house.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "servant", "over", "reapers", "answered", "said", "moabitish", "damsel", and "came". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "servant" and "over", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Then said Boaz unto his servant that..." into verse 7's "And she said Let me glean I...", so "servant" and "over" 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 "servant" and "over" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.