Ruth 2:20 is Naomi’s reaction when she learns that the field where Ruth has been gleaning belongs to Boaz, a relative of her late husband’s family. Naomi blesses Boaz and then explains that he is one of their “near kinsmen,” a man with a family duty to help them. The verse matters because it shows the first turn in the story, when grief begins to give way to hope.
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”
Ruth 2:20 (WEB)
What Ruth 2:20 Means
Naomi begins by asking that Boaz be blessed by the LORD. She says this because of what she sees in him: he has noticed Ruth, been generous to her, and allowed her to gather grain from his fields. Her blessing is a prayer that God would reward this kindness, and it shows that Naomi reads Boaz’s behavior as a sign of God’s own faithfulness at work.
The phrase about God not abandoning his kindness “to the living and to the dead” is the heart of the verse. Naomi has lost her husband and both her sons, and she is now a widow in a foreign land. She sees that God’s kindness, the Hebrew idea of faithful love, has not ended with the dead. It continues toward the living, and it is still reaching Naomi and Ruth through this man.
The verse does not promise that every hardship will be fixed or that every person we meet will behave well. It describes one moment when Naomi recognizes God’s care through an ordinary act of kindness. It is a reading of events rather than a guarantee of outcomes.
The Context of Ruth 2:20
The book of Ruth is traditionally attributed to an unnamed author, and it is generally read as a story about ordinary people in the period of the judges, though its final form may be later. It was written to show God’s quiet providence in family life, and it presents Ruth, a Moabite woman, as someone who has chosen to join the people of Israel and their God.
Just before the verse, Ruth goes out to glean in a field and comes home with a large amount of barley, which Naomi notices and praises. The verses that follow show Naomi explaining that Boaz is a relative who has the right to act for their family, and that Ruth should stay with his young women for safety. Read in that setting, Ruth 2:20 is the moment when Naomi moves from wondering who has helped them to understanding that a kinsman has stepped into their need.
Key Phrases in Ruth 2:20
Psalm 68:5
A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
(WEB)
This psalm describes God as a father to the fatherless and a defender of widows. It fits closely with Naomi’s situation, since she is a widow who has lost her sons, and it shows that God’s care for the vulnerable is part of his character.
Deuteronomy 25:5-6
5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies, and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel.
(WEB)
These verses describe the custom of levirate duty, in which a close relative would act to preserve the name and property of a deceased man. This background helps explain why Naomi calls Boaz a near kinsman and why his role carries such weight in the book of Ruth.
A Short Prayer From Ruth 2:20
Lord, you have not abandoned your kindness, even when life feels empty and the future seems uncertain. Thank you for the people you place in our path who notice our needs and act with generosity. Help us to see your faithful love in ordinary moments, and give us hearts that bless others as Naomi blessed Boaz. Keep us trusting that your care reaches both the living and the dead, and that your plans are still unfolding. Amen.
