Section 3:1–18
Ruth asked Boaz to help her and Naomi
Life for widows in ancient Israel was difficult, especially for those who had no grown sons, because women depended on men to protect and provide for them. This fourth section tells how Naomi wanted to find a new husband for Ruth so that she could have a better living situation. So, she instructed Ruth to go and meet Boaz secretly at night. Ruth followed Naomi’s plan and asked him to take her into his care as his wife. She told him that this was his duty as a relative of her dead husband.
Boaz was happy to do this, but there was a problem. There was another relative who was more closely related to Naomi and Ruth than he was. If that man did not want to marry Ruth, Boaz promised that he would marry her. When Ruth returned home and told Naomi what had happened, Naomi assured her that Boaz would work hard to take care of the situation that very day.
Here are some other examples of a heading for this section:
Naomi’s Plan for Ruth’s Marriage (God’s Word)
-or-
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor (New International Version)
-or-
Ruth asked Boaz to marry her
Paragraph 3:1–5
3:1a
One day: In Hebrew, this chapter begins with a conjunction that introduces a new major event in the story. Some versions do not use a conjunction or time phrase here.
Here are some other ways to introduce this event:
Then (English Standard Version)
-or-
Some time later (Good News Translation)
-or-
After a while
Consider the natural way in your language to introduce a new major event in the story. If you use a word or phrase that refers to a period of time, be sure that it can refer to an indefinite amount of time, perhaps a few weeks. By this time, the barley harvest was finished.
Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “Naomi her mother-in-law.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
her mother-in-law Naomi (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Naomi (Good News Translation)
Ruth is such an important character in this story that the author did not think it was necessary to mention her here by name. Instead, the Hebrew text only refers to her by the pronoun “her.” But Naomi is mentioned both by her name and by her relationship to Ruth, because Naomi is about to do something important in the story. These different ways of referring to the main characters in the story follow the pattern of Hebrew stories.
In some languages, it will not be necessary or natural to refer to Naomi here by both her name and her relationship to Ruth as mother-in-law. If this is true in your language, consider following the Contemporary English Version and some others by simply referring to her as Naomi.
said to her: This clause introduces a direct quotation of Naomi to Ruth.
In some languages, it may be natural to mention Ruth by name. For example:
said to Ruth (Good News Translation)
In other languages, it may already be obvious whom Naomi is talking to, so it would not be necessary to use any form of reference. For example:
Naomi then said (New Jerusalem Bible)
3:1b
My daughter: Ruth was not Naomi’s daughter, but the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as My daughter is a natural way for mothers-in-law to address daughters-in-law in Hebrew culture. It expresses Naomi’s affection for Ruth. You should translate these words the same way as in 2:2c.
Here are some other ways to translate these words:
Daughter (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
⌊ My⌋daughter-in-law
-or-
⌊ My dear⌋daughter
-or-
⌊ My⌋child
In some languages, it may be more natural for Naomi to not use any form of address to Ruth. The Contemporary English Version and Good News Translation do not include an explicit translation of these words.
Translate this form of address in a way that is natural and appropriate in your language.
should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasized the responsibility she felt to find a better living situation for Ruth.
Here are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? (New International Version (1984))
-or-
Is it not my duty to see you happily settled? (New Jerusalem Bible)
• Use a statement. For example:
I must find a suitable home for you (New Century Version)
-or-
it’s time that I found a permanent home for you (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own. (Good News Translation)
-or-
I think I should try to arrange for you to have a husband who will…provide for you. (Translation for Translators)
seek: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as seek means “search out.”
a resting place for you: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as resting place is literally “rest” or “place of rest.” But here it is a figure of speech that means “a secure future.” See how you translated the related word “rest” in 1:9.
Naomi wanted Ruth to have a quiet, settled, permanent situation in which to live the rest of her life. Such a situation could only come about through marriage. Naomi’s use of the phrase resting place here is an indirect reference to marriage.
Naomi seemed to deliberately avoid being explicit, so you should keep the reference to marriage indirect if possible. Translate this phrase in a natural and meaningful way in your language.
that it may be well with you: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as that it may be well with you is literally “which will be good for you.” In this context, it refers to being in a good, secure situation, with a husband who will provide the food, clothes, and home she needed.
Most versions translate this part of 3:1b as a purpose clause. For example:
so that it may be well with you (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
so that you will be taken care of (CSB)
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
that will be good for you (New Century Version)
-or-
so you will be secure (NET Bible)
It may be more natural in some languages to combine the two phrases “a resting place for you” and that it may be well with you into one phrase. For example:
a good home for you
-or-
a better life for you ⌊in the future⌋
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