Ruth 2:16 (DBY)

Passage

And ye shall also sometimes draw out for her [some ears] out of the handfuls, and leave them that she may glean, and rebuke her not.

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:14 And Boaz said to her at mealtime, Come hither and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers; and he reached her parched corn, and she ate and was sufficed, and reserved [some].

Ruth 2:15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and ye shall not reproach her.

Ruth 2:16 And ye shall also sometimes draw out for her [some ears] out of the handfuls, and leave them that she may glean, and rebuke her not.

Ruth 2:17 And she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah of barley.

Ruth 2:18 And she took [it] up, and came into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had reserved after she was sufficed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "sometimes", "draw", "ears", "handfuls", "leave", and "glean". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "sometimes", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And when she rose up to glean..." into verse 17's "And she gleaned in the field until...", so "shall" and "sometimes" 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 "shall" and "sometimes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.