Luke 7:7

7:7 That is why ¹  I did not presume ²  to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. ³ 

Ruth 2:10

2:10 Ruth ⁴  knelt before him with her forehead to the ground ⁵  and said to him, “Why are you so kind ⁶  and so attentive to me, ⁷  even though ⁸  I am a foreigner?” ⁹ 

Ruth 2:1

Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz

2:1 Now Naomi ¹⁰  had a relative ¹¹  on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. ¹² 

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ¹³  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ¹⁴  So a man from Bethlehem ¹⁵  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ¹⁶  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ¹⁷ 

Matthew 3:14

3:14 But John ¹⁸  tried to prevent ¹⁹  him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”

John 13:5-8

13:5 He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself. ²⁰ 

13:6 Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter ²¹  said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash ²²  my feet?” 13:7 Jesus replied, ²³  “You do not understand ²⁴  what I am doing now, but you will understand ²⁵  after these things.” 13:8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” ²⁶  Jesus replied, ²⁷  “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” ²⁸ 

Philippians 2:3

2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition ²⁹  or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

[7:7]  ¹ tn Or “roof; therefore.”

[7:7]  ² tn Grk “I did not consider myself worthy to come to you.” See BDAG 94 s.v. ἀξιόω 1. “Presume” assumes this and expresses the idea in terms of offense.

[7:7]  ³ tc The aorist imperative ἰαθήτω (iaqhtw, “must be healed”) is found in Ì^75vid B L 1241 sa. Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt bo) have instead a future indicative, ἰαθήσεται (iaqhsetai, “will be healed”). This is most likely an assimilation to Matt 8:8, and thus, as a motivated reading, should be considered secondary. The meaning either way is essentially the same.

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “she fell upon her face and bowed to the ground” (KJV, NASB similar).

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes…?” The expression מָצַא חֵן בְּעֵינֶי (matsa’ khen bÿ’eney, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) is often characterized by the following features: (1) A subordinate or servant is requesting permission for something from a superior (master, owner, king). (2) The granting of the request is not a certainty but dependent on whether or not the superior is pleased with the subordinate to do so. (3) The granting of the request by the superior is an act of kindness or benevolence; however, it sometimes reciprocates loyalty previously shown by the subordinate to the superior (e.g., Gen 30:27; 32:6; 33:8, 10, 15; 34:11; 39:4; 47:25, 29; 50:4; Num 32:5; Deut 24:1; 1 Sam 1:18; 16:22; 20:3, 29; 27:3; 2 Sam 14:22; 16:4; 1 Kgs 11:19; Esth 5:8; 7:3; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). While Boaz had granted her request for permission to glean in his field, she is amazed at the degree of kindness he had shown – especially since she had done nothing, in her own mind, to merit such a display. However, Boaz explains that she had indeed shown kindness to him indirectly through her devotion to Naomi (v. 11).

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes by [you] recognizing me.” The infinitive construct with prefixed לְ (lamed) here indicates manner (“by”).

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I am a foreigner.” The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav + subject + predicate nominative) here has a circumstantial (i.e., concessive) function (“even though”).

[2:10]  ⁹ sn The similarly spelled Hebrew terms נָכַר (nakhar, “to notice”) and נָכְרִי (nokhriy, “foreigner”) in this verse form a homonymic wordplay. This highlights the unexpected nature of the attentiveness and concern Boaz displayed to Ruth.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ו] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tc The marginal reading (Qere) is מוֹדַע (moda’, “relative”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְיֻדָּע (miyudda’, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע. Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading (Qere), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”

[2:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[3:14]  ¹⁸ tc ‡ The earliest mss (א* B sa) lack the name of John here (“but he tried to prevent him,” instead of “but John tried to prevent him”). It is, however, clearly implied (and is thus supplied in translation). Although the longer reading has excellent support (Ì⁹⁶ א¹ C D^s L W 0233 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat[t] sy mae bo), it looks to be a motivated and predictable reading: Scribes apparently could not resist adding this clarification.

[3:14]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively.

[13:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “with the towel with which he was girded.”

[13:6]  ²¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ²² tn Grk “do you wash” or “are you washing.”

[13:7]  ²³ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[13:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “You do not know.”

[13:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “you will know.”

[13:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.

[13:8]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[13:8]  ²⁸ tn Or “you have no part in me.”

[2:3]  ²⁹ tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”