Ruth 2:4 (DRB)

Passage

And behold, he came out of Bethlehem, and said to the reapers: The Lord be with you. And they answered him: The Lord bless thee.

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:2 And Ruth, the Moabitess, said to her mother in law: If thou wilt, I will go into the field, and glean the ears of corn that escape the hands of the reapers, wheresoever I shall find grace with a householder, that will be favourable to me. And she answered her: Go, my daughter.

Ruth 2:3 She went, therefore, and gleaned the ears of corn after the reapers. And it happened that the owner of that field was Booz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

Ruth 2:4 And behold, he came out of Bethlehem, and said to the reapers: The Lord be with you. And they answered him: The Lord bless thee.

Ruth 2:5 And Booz said to the young man that was set over the reapers: Whose maid is this ?

Ruth 2:6 And he answered him: This is the Moabitess, who came with Noemi, from the land of Moab,

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "She went therefore and gleaned the ears..." into verse 5's "And Booz said to the young man...", so "behold" and "came" 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 "behold" and "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.