Ruth 3:1

Naomi Instructs Ruth

3:1 At that time, ¹  Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. ² 

Ruth 3:7

3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. ³  Then Ruth ⁴  crept up quietly, ⁵  uncovered his legs, ⁶  and lay down beside him. ⁷ 

Ruth 3:10

3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded ⁸  by the Lord, my dear! ⁹  This act of devotion ¹⁰  is greater than what you did before. ¹¹  For you have not sought to marry ¹²  one of the young men, whether rich or poor. ¹³ 

¹ tn The phrase “sometime later” does not appear in Hebrew but is supplied to mark the implicit shift in time from the events in chapter 2.

² tn Heb “My daughter, should I not seek for you a resting place so that it may go well for you [or which will be good for you]?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see 2:8-9) and has thus been translated in the affirmative (so also NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

³ tn Heb “and Boaz ate and drank and his heart was well and he went to lie down at the end of the heap”; NAB “at the edge of the sheaves.”

⁴ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn Ruth must have waited until Boaz fell asleep, for he does not notice when she uncovers his legs and lies down beside him.

⁶ tn See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.

⁷ tn The words “beside him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. TEV “at his feet”; CEV “near his feet.”

⁵ tn Or “blessed” (so NASB, NRSV).

⁶ tn Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV). The same expression occurs in v. 11.

⁷ tn Heb “latter [act of] devotion”; NRSV “this last instance of your loyalty.”

⁸ tn Heb “you have made the latter act of devotion better than the former”; NIV “than that which you showed earlier.”

⁹ tn Heb “by not going after the young men” (NASB similar); TEV “You might have gone looking for a young man.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “whether poor or rich” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the more common English idiom reverses the order (“rich or poor”; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).