Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Go unto the vessels. Gleaners were sometimes allowed, by kind and charitable masters, to partake of the refreshments provided for the reapers. The vessels alluded to were skin bottles filled with water; and the bread was soaked in vinegar (Ruth 2:14), a kind of poor, weak wine, sometimes mingled with a little olive oil, very cooling, as would be required in harvest-time. This grateful refection is still used in the harvest field (see Robinsons' 'Biblical Researches,' 2:, p. 394).