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, ¹ 

Ruth 1:11

1:11 But Naomi replied, “Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! ²  I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands! ³ 

Ruth 1:22

1:22 So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. ⁴  (Now they ⁵  arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.) ⁶ 

Ruth 2:4

Boaz and Ruth Meet

2:4 Now at that very moment, ⁷  Boaz arrived from Bethlehem ⁸  and greeted ⁹  the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, ¹⁰  “May the Lord bless you!”

Ruth 2:6

2:6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab.

Ruth 2:12

2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! ¹¹  May your acts of kindness be repaid fully ¹²  by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” ¹³ 

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. ¹⁴  That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” ¹⁵ 

[1:7]  ¹ 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.”

[1:11]  ² tn Heb “Why would you want to come with me?” Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The phrase “to Judah” is added in the translation for clarification.

[1:11]  ³ tn Heb “Do I still have sons in my inner parts that they might become your husbands?” Again Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

[1:22]  ³ tn Heb “and Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, the one who returned from the region of Moab.”

[1:22]  ⁴ tn The pronoun appears to be third person masculine plural in form, but it is probably an archaic third person dual form (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 94).

[1:22]  ⁵ tn This statement, introduced with a disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) provides closure for the previous scene, while at the same time making a transition to the next scene, which takes place in the barley field. The reference to the harvest also reminds the reader that God has been merciful to his people by replacing the famine with fertility. In the flow of the narrative the question is now, “Will he do the same for Naomi and Ruth?”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.

[2:4]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.

[2:12]  ⁵ 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).

[2:12]  ⁶ 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.

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”

[2:22]  ⁶ 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.

[2:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”