3:14a
So she lay down at his feet: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So introduces what Ruth did in response to what Boaz told her in 3:13.
Because this is the beginning of a new paragraph, it may be appropriate to identify the participants by name here. For example:
So Ruth stayed near his feet until morning (New Century Version)
-or-
Ruth lay beside Boaz’s feet… (Easy English Bible)
until morning: From the statement in 3:14b, it is obvious that Ruth got up before the sun arose. Use a suitable word that can indicate a time very early in the morning, even before the sun rises.
3:14b
but she got up before anyone else could recognize her: In some languages, it will be necessary to explain why people could not recognize one another. They could not recognize one another because it was still too dark to see well. For example:
but she got up before it was light enough for her to be seen (Good News Translation)
-or-
But she got up and left before it was light enough that people would be able to recognize her (Translation for Translators)
-or-
but rose before it was light enough for one man to recognize another (Revised English Bible)
-or-
She got up while it was still dark, before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
A few translations just translate the meaning that it was still dark. They leave implied the idea that people could not recognize others. For example:
She woke up while it was still dark. (NET Bible)
-or-
but she got up before daylight (Contemporary English Version)
The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as before anyone else could recognize her is more literally “before one could recognize his companion.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
She rose before one person could distinguish another (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
Then she got up before anyone could see her. (Easy English Bible)
3:14c
Then Boaz said: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as said can be used in some cases for a person speaking to himself (thinking). Therefore, there are two ways to interpret 3:14c:
(1) This is something Boaz thought. For example:
for he thought (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
(2) This is something Boaz said aloud. For example:
for Boaz had said (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). If Boaz were talking aloud to Ruth, he would probably not refer to her in the third person, especially as “the woman” (see below).
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Boaz thought (NET Bible)
-or-
And Boaz said to himself
“Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”: There is a textual issue concerning the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a woman :
(1) The Masoretic Text (Hebrew) has “the woman.” For example:
“People in town must not know that the woman came here to the threshing floor.” (New Century Version)
(2) The Septuagint (LXX) has “a woman.” For example:
“No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” (NET Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the MT. Boaz was worried about the reputation of Ruth, not the reputation of any woman.
The Berean Standard Bible does not follow interpretation (1) for either of the above issues, so the New Jerusalem Bible has been used as an alternate Source Line in the Display.
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