Ruth 2:8

2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, ¹  my dear! ²  Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not ³  go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside ⁴  my female workers. ⁵ 

Ruth 2:11

2:11 Boaz replied to her, ⁶  “I have been given a full report of ⁷  all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left ⁸  your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. ⁹ 

Ruth 2:14

2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have ¹⁰  some food! Dip your bread ¹¹  in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed ¹²  her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. ¹³ 

Ruth 2:19

2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ¹⁴  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ¹⁵  So Ruth ¹⁶  told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Ruth 4:9

4:9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.

[2:8]  ¹ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 119, and GKC 474 §150.e).

[2:8]  ² tn Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. It might suggest that Boaz is older than Ruth, but not necessarily significantly so. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV).

[2:8]  ³ tn The switch from the negative particle אַל (’al, see the preceding statement, “do not leave”) to לֹא (lo’) may make this statement more emphatic. It may indicate that the statement is a policy applicable for the rest of the harvest (see v. 21).

[2:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and thus you may stay close with.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here.

[2:8]  ⁵ sn The female workers would come along behind those who cut the grain and bundle it up. Staying close to the female workers allowed Ruth to collect more grain than would normally be the case (see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 61, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 121).

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “answered and said to her” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons this has been translated as “replied to her.”

[2:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “it has been fully reported to me.” The infinitive absolute here emphasizes the following finite verb from the same root. Here it emphasizes either the clarity of the report or its completeness. See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 153, n. 6. Most English versions tend toward the nuance of completeness (e.g., KJV “fully been shewed”; NAB “a complete account”; NASB, NRSV “All that you have done”).

[2:11]  ⁸ tn The vav (ו) consecutive construction here has a specifying function. This and the following clause elaborate on the preceding general statement and explain more specifically what she did for her mother-in-law.

[2:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “yesterday and the third day.” This Hebrew idiom means “previously, in the past” (Exod 5:7,8,14; Exod 21:29,36; Deut 4:42; 19:4,6; Josh 3:4; 1 Sam 21:5; 2 Sam 3:17; 1 Chr 11:2).

[2:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).

[2:14]  ¹² tn Heb “your portion”; NRSV “your morsel.”

[2:14]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb צָבַט (tsavat) occurs only here in the OT. Cf. KJV, ASV “he reached her”; NASB “he served her”; NIV “he offered her”; NRSV “he heaped up for her.” For discussion of its meaning, including the etymological evidence, see BDB 840 s.v.; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 174; and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 125-26.

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and she ate and she was satisfied and she had some left over” (NASB similar).

[2:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.