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So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
Ruth 2:17 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB 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.
  • 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 looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
  • Ezek 45:11–12The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer.
  • Exod 16:36Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 2:17YouTube · 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 2:17 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.