Ruth 4:10

4:10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property ¹  so the name of the deceased might not disappear ²  from among his relatives and from his village. ³  You are witnesses today.”

Ruth 4:13-17

A Grandson is Born to Naomi

4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. ⁴  The Lord enabled her to conceive ⁵  and she gave birth to a son. 4:14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian ⁶  today! May he ⁷  become famous in Israel! ⁸  4:15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, ⁹  for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She ¹⁰  is better to you than seven sons!” 4:16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; ¹¹  she became his caregiver. ¹²  4:17 The neighbor women named him, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. ¹³  Now he became the father of Jesse – David’s father!

¹ tn Heb “in order to raise up the name of the deceased over his inheritance” (NASB similar).

² tn Heb “be cut off” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “may not perish.”

³ tn Heb “and from the gate of his place” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “from the court of his birth place”; NIV “from the town records.”

⁴ tn Heb “and Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went in to her.” Here the phrase “went in to her” (so NASB) is a euphemism for having sexual relations (cf. NCV); NLT “When he slept with her.”

⁵ tn Heb “gave her conception” (so KJV); NRSV “made her conceive”; NLT “enabled her to become pregnant.”

⁶ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in 3:9. As the following context indicates, the child is referred to here.

⁷ tn The “guardian” is the subject of the verb, as the next verse makes clear.

⁸ tn Heb “may his name be called [i.e., “perpetuated”; see Gen 48:16] in Israel.”

⁹ tn Heb “and he will become for you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age” (NASB similar).

¹⁰ tn Heb “who, she”; KJV “which is better to thee.”

¹¹ tn Or “breast”; KJV, NRSV “in her bosom.”

¹² tn Heb “his nurse,” but this refers to a dry nurse, not a medical attendant. Cf. NIV “and cared for him”; TEV “and took (+ good CEV) care of him.”

¹³ tn The name “Obed” means “one who serves,” perhaps anticipating how he would help Naomi (see v. 15).