Ruth 1:8

1:8 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 2:14

2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have ⁶  some food! Dip your bread ⁷  in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed ⁸  her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. ⁹ 

Ruth 2:19

2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ¹⁰  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ¹¹  So Ruth ¹²  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 3:15

3:15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl ¹³  you are wearing ¹⁴  and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds ¹⁵  of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he ¹⁶  went into town,

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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).

² tc The MT (Kethib) has the imperfect יַעֲשֶׂה (ya’aseh, “[the Lord] will do”), but the marginal reading (Qere) has the shortened jussive form יַעַשׂ (ya’as, “may [the Lord] do”), which is more probable in this prayer of blessing. Most English versions adopt the jussive form (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, JPS, TEV, CEV, NLT).

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).

⁴ tn Heb “the dead” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “your husbands.” This refers to their deceased husbands.

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.”

⁶ tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).

⁷ tn Heb “your portion”; NRSV “your morsel.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn Heb “and she ate and she was satisfied and she had some left over” (NASB similar).

¹⁰ tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.

¹¹ tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.

¹² tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Or “cloak” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); CEV “cape.” The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Isa 3:22.

¹⁴ tn Heb “which [is] upon you”; NIV, NRSV “you are wearing.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and she gripped it tightly and he measured out six of barley and placed upon her.” The unit of measure is not indicated in the Hebrew text, although it would probably have been clear to the original hearers of the account. Six ephahs, the equivalent of 180-300 pounds, is clearly too heavy, especially if carried in a garment. Six omers (an omer being a tenth of an ephah) seems too little, since this would have amounted to six-tenths of an ephah, less than Ruth had gleaned in a single day (cf. 2:17). Thus a seah (one third of an ephah) may be in view here; six seahs would amount to two ephahs, about 60 pounds (27 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 222, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 178.

¹⁶ tc The MT preserves the 3rd person masculine singular form וַיָּבֹא (vayyavo’, “then he went”; cf. ASV, NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT), while many medieval mss (supported by the Syriac and Vulgate) have the 3rd person feminine singular form וַתָּבֹא (vattavo’, “then she went”; cf. KJV, NASB, TEV).