Ruth 2:19 (YLT)

Passage

And her mother-in-law saith to her, `Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? may he who is discerning thee be blessed.' And she declareth to her mother-in-law with whom she hath wrought, and saith, `The name of the man with whom I have wrought to-day <FI>is<Fi> Boaz.'

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:17 And she gleaneth in the field till the evening, and beateth out that which she hath gleaned, and it is about an ephah of barley;

Ruth 2:18 and she taketh <FI>it<Fi> up, and goeth into the city, and her mother-in-law seeth that which she hath gleaned, and she bringeth out and giveth to her that which she left from her satiety.

Ruth 2:19 And her mother-in-law saith to her, `Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? may he who is discerning thee be blessed.' And she declareth to her mother-in-law with whom she hath wrought, and saith, `The name of the man with whom I have wrought to-day <FI>is<Fi> Boaz.'

Ruth 2:20 And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law, `Blessed <FI>is<Fi> he of Jehovah who hath not forsaken His kindness with the living and with the dead;' and Naomi saith to her, `The man is a relation of ours; he <FI>is<Fi> of our redeemers.'

Ruth 2:21 And Ruth the Moabitess saith, `Also he surely said unto me, Near the young people whom I have thou dost cleave till they have completed the whole of the harvest which I have.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mother-in-law", "saith", "where", "hast", "thou", "gleaned", and "to-day". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mother-in-law" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "and she taketh FI it Fi up..." into verse 20's "And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law Blessed...", so "mother-in-law" and "saith" 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 "mother-in-law" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.