² tn Heb “your needy brother.”

⁴ tn Heb “from your needy brother.”

¹ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

⁴ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

¹ tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.

³ tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

¹ sn Psalm 113. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign king of the world who reaches down to help the needy.

² tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”

⁴ sn This list of needy is like Luke 7:22. See Deut 14:28-29; 16:11-14; 26:11-13.

¹ tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.

¹ sn Psalm 146. The psalmist urges his audience not to trust in men, but in the Lord, the just king of the world who cares for the needy.

⁴ tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

¹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.

² sn Ezekiel 16:49-50 includes three types of sins of Sodom: failure to help the poor and needy while having prosperity, pride (or haughtiness), and committing abomination.

³ sn Go out to the highways and country roads. This suggests the inclusion of people outside the town, even beyond the needy (poor, crippled, blind, and lame) in the town, and so is an allusion to the inclusion of the Gentiles.

⁵ tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

¹ sn The poor and needy are often mentioned together in the OT (Deut 24:14; Jer 22:16; Ezek 16:49; Pss 12:6; 35:10; 37:14).

¹ sn The parallel expressions here underscore her care for the needy. The first part uses “she spread her palm” and the second “she extended her hands,” repeating some of the vocabulary introduced in the last verse.

¹ sn Because of the violence and oppression of the wicked, the poor and needy, the widows and orphans, all are deprived of their rights and forced out of the ways and into hiding just to survive.

¹ sn The theological message of the Book of Ruth may be summarized as follows: God cares for needy people like Naomi and Ruth; he is their ally in this chaotic world. He richly rewards people like Ruth and Boaz who demonstrate sacrificial love and in so doing become his instruments in helping the needy. God’s rewards for those who sacrificially love others sometimes exceed their wildest imagination and transcend their lifetime.