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Ruth 2:13-15
New English Translation
Ruth 2:13-15
New English Translation
13 She said, “You really are being kind to me,[a] sir,[b] for you have reassured[c] and encouraged[d] me, your servant,[e] even though I will[f] never be like[g] one of your servants.”[h]
14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have[i] some food! Dip your bread[j] in the vinegar.” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed[k] her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest.[l] 15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told[m] his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among[n] the bundles. Don’t chase her off![o]
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- Ruth 2:13 tn Heb “I am finding favor in your eyes.” In v. 10, where Ruth uses the perfect, she simply states the fact that Boaz is kind. Here the Hebrew text switches to the imperfect, thus emphasizing the ongoing attitude of kindness displayed by Boaz. Many English versions treat this as a request: KJV “Let me find favour in thy sight”; NAB “May I prove worthy of your kindness”; NIV “May I continue to find favor in your eyes.”
- Ruth 2:13 tn Heb “my master”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “my lord.”
- Ruth 2:13 tn Or “comforted” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
- Ruth 2:13 tn Heb “spoken to the heart of.” As F. W. Bush points out, the idiom here means “to reassure, encourage” (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124).
- Ruth 2:13 tn Ruth here uses a word (שִׁפְחָה, shifkhah) that describes the lowest level of female servant (see 1 Sam 25:41). Note Ruth 3:9 where she uses the word אָמָה (ʾamah), which refers to a higher class of servant.
- Ruth 2:13 tn The imperfect verbal form of הָיָה (hayah) is used here. F. W. Bush shows from usage elsewhere that the form should be taken as future (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124-25).
- Ruth 2:13 tn Or “will never be the equivalent of one of your maidservants” (see F. Bush, Ruth [WBC], 107).
- Ruth 2:13 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) is circumstantial (or concessive) here (“even though”).
- Ruth 2:14 tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).
- Ruth 2:14 tn Heb “your portion”; NRSV “your morsel.”
- Ruth 2:14 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.
- Ruth 2:14 tn Heb “and she ate and she was satisfied and she had some left over” (NASB similar).
- Ruth 2:15 tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NASB, NCV).
- Ruth 2:15 tn Heb “even between”; NCV “even around.”
- Ruth 2:15 tn Heb “do not humiliate her”; cf. KJV “reproach her not”; NASB “do not insult her”; NIV “don’t embarrass her.” This probably refers to a verbal rebuke which would single her out and embarrass her (see v. 16). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 176-77, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 126.
New English Translation (NET)
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