The Good News Translation rendering Ruth bowed down with her face touching the ground represents a Hebrew expression which is often rendered literally “She fell on her face, bowing to the ground.” The two expressions (“fell … bowing…”) represent a measure of redundancy. The custom was that the person kneeled down in front of the other who was to be honored and inclined himself until touching the ground with his forehead, as the Muslims do during prayer. It is rare that one can translate literally “she fell on her face,” since this tends to be understood as being accidental rather than intentional. The Hebrew verb implies a downward movement which could be voluntary (for example, “descend from a chariot,” 2 Kgs 5.21) or involuntary (for example, “fall from a roof,” Deut 22.8). Here it is, of course, a voluntary movement. Some translators employ a phrase such as “to cast oneself down,” but this again is a rather strange rendering, since it seems to imply some kind of violent activity rather than simply homage and gratitude. Accordingly, Good News Translation employs the expression bowed down with her face touching the ground. In some languages it may even be necessary to translate “bowed very low, touching her forehead to the ground,” since in many receptor cultures this is the equivalent expression.

Said to Boaz must be rendered in some languages as “asked Boaz,” “inquired of Boaz,” since what follows is a question.

Be so concerned about translates what is in Hebrew literally “found favor in your eyes” (see comments on verse 2). The emphasis here is upon the favor which Boaz had shown to Ruth and thus “to be kind to” is appropriate. It is also possible to combine “kindness” with “taking notice of,” and so to translate “Why are you so kind as to take notice of me?”

In the Hebrew expression translated often as “take notice of me when I am a foreigner,” there is a pun on the roots of the verb and the noun. hakkireni and nakriyyah. According to Th. Nöldeke (k Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft, 1910, page 96) both items stem from the same root nkr with the meaning “als fremd, d.h. mit Aufmerksamkeit betrachten.” Recent dictionaries, however, rightly make a semantic distinction between two roots nkr I and nkr II. Some translators try to introduce a play on words in a corresponding English translation such as “to deal with me as a friend though I am a foreigner,” though in this instance there is very little resemblance between the sounds. A better example of assonance is to be found in German in the text of the Zürcher Bibel: “… und mich so freundlich beachtest? Ich bin ja nur eine Fremde.” It is always nice to be able to reproduce a play on words in a source language, but it is only rarely that one can do so with success. Attempts to reproduce a play on words frequently result in a rather artificial kind of expression.

A foreigner may be rendered in some languages as “someone not from this country,” “a person from a different tribe,” or “someone from a distant country” (or “another country”). In this context “distant” is purely a relative matter, but it is often used as a means of designating a foreigner.

The statement by Ruth that she is a foreigner is important in the development of the story. This prepares the ground for Boaz’s statement beginning in verse 11. Midrash Rabbah to Ruth, in referring to lehakkireni, already makes the future course of the story explicit: “she prophesied that he would know her in the way of all people” (i.e., as his wife).

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Ruth. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .