Ruth 2:16

2:16 Make sure you pull out ¹  ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!” ² 

Ruth 2:15

2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told ³  his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among ⁴  the bundles! Don’t chase her off! ⁵ 

Ruth 2:22

2:22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. ⁶  That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” ⁷ 

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 ⁸  so the name of the deceased might not disappear ⁹  from among his relatives and from his village. ¹⁰  You are witnesses today.”

¹ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis. Here שָׁלַל (shalal, “pull out”) is a homonym of the more common Hebrew verb meaning “to plunder.” An Arabic cognate is used of drawing a sword out of a scabbard (see BDB 1021 s.v.).

² tn Heb “do not rebuke her” (so NASB, NRSV); CEV “don’t speak harshly to her”; NLT “don’t give her a hard time.”

³ tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NASB, NCV).

⁴ tn Heb “even between”; NCV “even around.”

⁵ tn Heb “do not humiliate her”; cf. KJV “reproach her not”; NASB “do not insult her”; NIV “don’t embarrass her.” This probably refers to a verbal rebuke which would single her out and embarrass her (see v. 16). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 176-77, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 126.

⁵ tn Naomi uses the feminine form of the word “servant” (as Boaz did earlier, see v. 8), in contrast to Ruth’s use of the masculine form in the preceding verse. Since she is concerned for Ruth’s safety, she may be subtly reminding Ruth to stay with the female workers and not get too close to the men.

⁶ tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”

⁷ tn Heb “in order to raise up the name of the deceased over his inheritance” (NASB similar).

⁸ tn Heb “be cut off” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “may not perish.”

⁹ 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.”