Only a few people will survive. They will be like an olive tree that has been beaten. Only two or three olives are left at the top of the highest branch, four or five olives on the rest of the branches,” declares the Lord God of Israel.
That is the way it will be on earth among the nations. They will be like an olive tree which has been shaken or like what’s left after the grape harvest.
If people come to pick your grapes, won’t they leave a few grapes behind? If thieves come during the night, won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough?
“Here is the reason: I am the Lord your God. You must live holy lives. Be holy because I am holy. Never become unclean by touching anything that swarms or crawls on the ground.
“When you harvest the grain in your land, don’t harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you’re finished. Leave it for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.”
“If thieves or looters come to you during the night, won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough? You will be ruined! If people come to pick your grapes, won’t they leave a few grapes behind?
This is what you must do when you’re harvesting wheat in your field. If you forget to bring in one of the bundles of wheat, don’t go back to get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
Gideon replied, “I haven’t done anything compared with what you have done. Aren’t the grapes that Ephraim picked after the harvest better than all the grapes in Abiezer’s entire harvest?
Ruth, who was from Moab, said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field of anyone who will be kind to me. There I will gather the grain left behind by the reapers.” Naomi told her, “Go, my daughter.”