Ruth 2:3

2:3 So Ruth ¹  went and gathered grain in the fields ²  behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up ³  in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Ruth 3:8

3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled ⁴  and turned over. ⁵  Now ⁶  he saw a woman ⁷  lying beside him! ⁸ 

Ruth 3:18

3:18 Then Naomi ⁹  said, “Stay put, ¹⁰  my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”

Ruth 3:16

3:16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.

Ruth Returns to Naomi

When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi ¹¹  asked, ¹²  “How did things turn out for you, ¹³  my daughter?” Ruth ¹⁴  told her about all the man had done for her. ¹⁵ 

Ruth 1:19

1:19 So the two of them ¹⁶  journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ 

Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem

When they entered ¹⁸  Bethlehem, ¹⁹  the whole village was excited about their arrival. ²⁰  The women of the village said, ²¹  “Can this be Naomi?” ²² 

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. ²³  That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” ²⁴ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”

[2:3]  ³ sn The text is written from Ruth’s limited perspective. As far as she was concerned, she randomly picked a spot in the field. But God was providentially at work and led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who, as a near relative of Elimelech, was a potential benefactor.

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “trembled, shuddered”; CEV, NLT “suddenly woke up.” Perhaps he shivered because he was chilled.

[3:8]  ⁵ tn The verb לָפַת (lafat) occurs only here, Job 6:18, and Judg 16:29 (where it seems to mean “grab hold of”). Here the verb seems to carry the meaning “bend, twist, turn,” like its Arabic cognate (see HALOT 533 s.v. לפת, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 163).

[3:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, NASB). The narrator invites the reader to view the situation through Boaz’s eyes.

[3:8]  ⁷ sn Now he saw a woman. The narrator writes from Boaz’s perspective. Both the narrator and the reader know the night visitor is Ruth, but from Boaz’s perspective she is simply “a woman.”

[3:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “[at] his legs.” See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.

[3:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “sit”; KJV “Sit still”; NAB “Wait here”; NLT “Just be patient.”

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “said.” Since what follows is a question, the present translation uses “asked” here.

[3:16]  ¹² tn Heb “Who are you?” In this context Naomi is clearly not asking for Ruth’s identity. Here the question has the semantic force “Are you his wife?” See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 223-24, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 184-85.

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ¹⁴ sn All that the man had done. This would have included his promise to marry her and his gift of barley.

[1:19]  ¹³ tn The suffix “them” appears to be masculine, but it is probably an archaic dual form (E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).

[1:19]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[1:19]  ¹⁵ tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was”) here introduces a new scene.

[1:19]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[1:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “because of them” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “excited to see them.”

[1:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they said,” but the verb form is third person feminine plural, indicating that the women of the village are the subject.

[1:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Is this Naomi?” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The question here expresses surprise and delight because of the way Naomi reacts to it (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 92).

[2:22]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”