So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was about an ephah of barley.
Parallel translations
- WEB So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
- KJV So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
- NKJV So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
- NASB So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
- NLT So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket.
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
Ruth gleans until evening and threshes about an ephah of barley. Her hard work, aided by Boaz's generosity, yields an abundant harvest.
Overview
An ephah (perhaps thirty pounds of grain) was a remarkable amount for a single day's gleaning, evidence of both Ruth's diligence and Boaz's lavish provision. The plentiful yield will astonish Naomi and signal that God's care is reviving the family. Ruth's faithful labor becomes the channel of God's blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 31:27She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
- Ezek 45:11–12The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity so that the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure for both.
- Exod 16:36(Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:17 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.