Ruth 3:12

3:12 Now yes, it is true that ¹  I am a guardian, ²  but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am.

Ruth 3:10

3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded ³  by the Lord, my dear! ⁴  This act of devotion ⁵  is greater than what you did before. ⁶  For you have not sought to marry ⁷  one of the young men, whether rich or poor. 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 2:21

2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even ¹¹  told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants ¹²  until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” ¹³ 

Ruth 3:13

3:13 Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, ¹⁴  fine, ¹⁵  let him do so. ¹⁶  But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. ¹⁷  Sleep here until morning.” ¹⁸ 

Ruth 4:4

4:4 So I am legally informing you: ¹⁹  Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! ²⁰  If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. ²¹  But if not, then tell me ²²  so I will know. ²³  For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” ²⁴  He replied, “I will redeem it.”

[3:12]  ¹ tc The sequence כִּי אָמְנָם כִּי אִם (ki ’omnam ki ’im; Kethib) occurs only here in the OT, as does the sequence כִּי אָמְנָם כִּי (Qere). It is likely that כִּי אִם is dittographic (note the preceding sequence כִּי אָמְנָם). The translation assumes that the original text was simply the otherwise unattested וְעַתָּה כִּי אָמְנָם, with אָמְנָם and כִּי both having an asseverative (or emphatic) function.

[3:12]  ² tn Sometimes translated “redeemer” (also later in this verse). See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in v. 9.

[3:10]  ³ tn Or “blessed” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:10]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “latter [act of] devotion”; NRSV “this last instance of your loyalty.”

[3:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “you have made the latter act of devotion better than the former”; NIV “than that which you showed earlier.”

[3:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “by not going after the young men” (NASB similar); TEV “You might have gone looking for a young man.”

[3:10]  ⁸ 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).

[3:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “sit”; KJV “Sit still”; NAB “Wait here”; NLT “Just be patient.”

[2:21]  ⁷ tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.

[2:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “with the servants who are mine you may stay close.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here. The word “servants” is masculine plural.

[2:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”

[3:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “if he redeems you”; NIV “if he wants to redeem”; NRSV “if he will act as next-of-kin for you.” The verb גֹּאֵל (go’el) here refers generally to fulfilling his responsibilities as a guardian of the family interests. In this case it specifically entails marrying Ruth.

[3:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “good” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “well and good.”

[3:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let him redeem” (so NIV); NLT “then let him marry you.”

[3:13]  ¹² tn Heb “but if he does not want to redeem you, then I will redeem you, I, [as] the Lord lives” (NASB similar).

[3:13]  ¹³ sn Sleep here. Perhaps Boaz tells her to remain at the threshing floor because he is afraid she might be hurt wandering back home in the dark. See Song 5:7 and R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 218.

[4:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and I said [or perhaps, “thought to myself”], ‘I will [or “must”] uncover your ear, saying’”; NAB “So I thought I would inform you”; NIV “I thought I should bring the matter to your attention.”

[4:4]  ¹² tn The phrase “before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people” appears to refer to the leaders who were specially chosen as witnesses (v. 2) and the larger group of community leaders standing by. It is possible, however, that the phrases “before those sitting here” and “before the leaders of my people” are appositional and that both refer to the ten leaders mentioned in v. 2 (cf. NLT “in the presence of these witnesses”).

[4:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “if you will redeem, redeem” (KJV, NASB, NRSV all similar); NCV “If you want to buy back the land, then buy it.”

[4:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “but if he will not redeem, tell me.” Most English versions emend the third person verb form (“he”) to the second person form because Boaz is addressing the closer relative. But it is possible that he briefly addresses the witnesses and refers to the closer relative in the third person. See J. M. Sasson, Ruth, 118.

[4:4]  ¹⁵ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verb form with vav indicates purpose or result.

[4:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for there is no one besides you to redeem, and I am after you” (NASB similar).