Rut 1:9

1:9 May the Lord enable each of you to find ¹  security ²  in the home of a new husband!” ³  Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly. ⁴ 

Rut 2:4

Boaz and Ruth Meet

2:4 Now at that very moment, ⁵  Boaz arrived from Bethlehem ⁶  and greeted ⁷  the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, ⁸  “May the Lord bless you!”

Rut 2:21

2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even ⁹  told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants ¹⁰  until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” ¹¹ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “may the Lord give to you, and find rest, each [in] the house of her husband.” The syntax is unusual, but following the jussive (“may he give”), the imperative with vav (ו) conjunctive (“and find”) probably indicates the purpose or consequence of the preceding action: “May he enable you to find rest.”

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “rest.” While the basic meaning of מְנוּחָה (mÿnukhah) is “rest,” it often refers to “security,” such as provided in marriage (BDB 629-30 s.v.; HALOT 600 s.v.). Thus English versions render it in three different but related ways: (1) the basic sense: “rest” (KJV, ASV, NASV, NIV); (2) the metonymical cause/effect sense: “security” (NRSV, NJPS, REB, NLT, GW); and (3) the referential sense: “home” (RSV, TEV, CEV, NCV).

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “in the house of her husband” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “your husband.”

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “they lifted their voice[s] and wept” (KJV, ASV, NASB all similar). This refers to loud weeping characteristic of those mourning a tragedy (Judg 21:2; 2 Sam 13:36; Job 2:12).

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.

[2:4]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.

[2:21]  ⁹ tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.

[2:21]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”