Ruth 2:10
“Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Ruth bows low and humbly asks why she, a foreigner, has found such favor.
What Does Ruth 2:10 Mean?
Overcome by such unexpected kindness, Ruth falls on her face and bows to the ground. Her question is full of wonder and humility: Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? She cannot account for it. She knows herself to be an outsider with no claim on this man's generosity, and yet here is favor poured out upon her.
Ruth's astonishment is the proper response to unearned grace. She does not take the kindness as her due; she receives it as a gift she cannot explain. To be a stranger and yet be known, to be foreign and yet be favored, this moves her to the dust in gratitude. Such is the wonder every soul feels before the grace of God, who takes knowledge of those who have no claim on Him. Ruth's bowed posture is the posture of every heart that grasps how undeserved God's kindness truly is.
In the Original Language
nokri (נָכְרִי), 'stranger' — a foreigner, an outsider with no kinship claim; Ruth marvels that such favor reaches one like her.