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Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.
Ruth 2:18 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough.
  • KJV And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
  • BSB She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out what she had saved from her meal and gave it to Naomi.
  • NASB And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.
  • NLT She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.

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 brings the grain home and gives Naomi the leftovers from her meal. Her continued care for Naomi shows her ongoing devotion.

Overview

Ruth carries the abundant harvest back and shares the food she had saved, again putting Naomi's needs alongside her own. The visible bounty prompts Naomi's eager questions. Ruth's faithfulness in providing for her mother-in-law continues to drive the story toward redemption and restored hope.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Ruth 2:14At meal time Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left some of it.
  • 1 Tim 5:4But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety towards their own family, and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God.
  • John 6:12–13When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”

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 2:18YouTube · 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 2:18 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.