Ruth 2:12

2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! ¹  May your acts of kindness be repaid fully ²  by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” ³ 

Ruth 2:2

2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ⁴  to the fields so I can gather ⁵  grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ⁶  Naomi ⁷  replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Ruth 1:7

Ruth Returns with Naomi

1:7 Now as she and her two daughters-in-law began to leave the place where she had been living to return to the land of Judah, ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

9:7 Go, eat your food ⁹  with joy,

and drink your wine with a happy heart,

because God has already approved your works.

Hebrews 6:10

6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

Hebrews 11:6

11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

¹ tn Heb “repay your work”; KJV, ASV “recompense thy work.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the jussive form in the next clause).

² tn Heb “may your wages be complete”; NCV “May your wages be paid in full.” The prefixed verbal form is a distinct jussive form, indicating that this is a prayer for blessing.

³ tn Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”

⁴ tn The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.

⁵ tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.

⁶ tn Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’emtsa’-khen bÿ’enayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.

⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “and she went out from the place she had been, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.”

⁹ tn Heb “your bread.”