Ruth 1:8
Context1:8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Listen to me! Each of you should return to your mother’s home! 1 May the Lord show 2 you 3 the same kind of devotion that you have shown to your deceased husbands 4 and to me! 5
Ruth 3:10
Context3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded 6 by the Lord, my dear! 7 This act of devotion 8 is greater than what you did before. 9 For you have not sought to marry 10 one of the young men, whether rich or poor. 11
Ruth 2:20
Context2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he 12 has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” 13 Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” 14


[1:8] 1 tn Heb “each to the house of her mother.” Naomi’s words imply that it is more appropriate for the two widows to go home to their mothers, rather than stay with their mother-in-law (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75).
[1:8] 2 tc The MT (Kethib) has the imperfect יַעֲשֶׂה (ya’aseh, “[the
[1:8] 3 tn Heb “do with you”; NRSV “deal kindly with you”; NLT “reward you for your kindness.” The pronominal suffix “you” appears to be a masculine form, but this is likely a preservation of an archaic dual form (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).
[1:8] 4 tn Heb “the dead” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “your husbands.” This refers to their deceased husbands.
[1:8] 5 tn Heb “devotion as you have done with the dead and with me.” The noun חֶסֶד (khesed, “devotion”) is a key thematic term in the book of Ruth (see 2:20; 3:10). G. R. Clark suggests that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient”; an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him – or herself” (The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267). HALOT 336-37 s.v. II חֶסֶד defines the word as “loyalty” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate glosses might be “commitment” and “devotion.”
[3:10] 6 tn Or “blessed” (so NASB, NRSV).
[3:10] 7 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.
[3:10] 8 tn Heb “latter [act of] devotion”; NRSV “this last instance of your loyalty.”
[3:10] 9 tn Heb “you have made the latter act of devotion better than the former”; NIV “than that which you showed earlier.”
[3:10] 10 tn Heb “by not going after the young men” (NASB similar); TEV “You might have gone looking for a young man.”
[3:10] 11 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).
[2:20] 11 tn Many English versions translate this statement, “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the
[2:20] 12 tn Heb “to the living and the dead” (so KJV, NASB).
[2:20] 13 tn The Hebrew term גָּאַל (ga’al) is sometimes translated “redeemer” here (NIV “one of our kinsman-redeemers”; NLT “one of our family redeemers”). In this context Boaz, as a “redeemer,” functions as a guardian of the family interests who has responsibility for caring for the widows of his deceased kinsmen.