Ruth 2:21-22

2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even ¹  told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants ²  until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” ³  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. ⁴  That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” ⁵ 

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¹ tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.

² 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.

³ tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”