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May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
Ruth 2:12 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
  • KJV The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
  • NKJV The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
  • NASB May the Lord reward your work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
  • NLT May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Boaz prays that the LORD, under whose wings Ruth has taken refuge, would fully reward her. He sees her as one who has come to trust Israel's God for shelter.

Overview

The image of taking refuge 'under his wings' depicts trusting God for protection (cf. Psalm 91:4). Boaz recognizes Ruth's faith as the heart of her loyalty and prays for divine reward. Strikingly, Boaz himself will become part of God's answer to this prayer—the means by which Ruth finds refuge and reward.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Ps 36:7How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
  • Ps 91:4He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
  • Ps 63:7For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
  • Ps 61:4Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
  • Ps 17:8Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
  • Heb 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
  • Ps 57:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
  • Ruth 1:16But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
  • Heb 11:26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.
  • 1 Sam 24:19When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go away unharmed? May the LORD reward you with good for what you have done for me this day.
  • Matt 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
  • Prov 23:18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
  • 2 Tim 4:8From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.
  • Heb 11:6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
  • Matt 6:1“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
  • Ps 58:11Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
  • Matt 5:12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
  • Luke 6:35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
  • Ps 19:11By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward.
  • Prov 11:18The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
  • 2 Tim 1:18May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus.
  • Col 2:18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.
  • Matt 10:41–42Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
  • Luke 14:12–14Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ruth videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ruth 2:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RuthMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Boaz the kinsman-redeemer who buys back the destitute and takes a bride foreshadows Christ, our Redeemer who pays the price to make a people his own; and from Ruth's line comes David, and David's greater Son.

How Ruth 2:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.