2And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “wheat”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext) or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ruth” in English means “beauty,” “something worth seeing,” “friendship,” “trembling,” “satisfied.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “respect” referring to the respect that she shows for the mother-in-law as shown in Ruth 1:16. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that refers to “woman” and “progress” (the perspective of future). It signifies that Ruth did not return to her people but stayed with her mother-in-law, Naomi, because she was bound to her by deep love, loyalty, and commitment, even after the death of her husband (Naomi’s son). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Ruth” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Ruth,” the second part refers to “book” (source )
The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Naomi” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “changed identity” referring to the many life changes that Naomi goes through in the book of Ruth. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 2:2-2:5:
Noongar: “Ruth of Moab said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the wheat-field and gather seed. I can go behind people who are kind to me.’ Naomi said to her, ‘Go, my daughter.’ So Ruth went to the wheat-fields and gathered wheat behind the wheat workers. Now, Boaz owned this wheat-field. He was Elimelech’s relative. Just then, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He said to the wheat workers, ‘God stays with you!’. They replied, ‘God bless you!’ Then Boaz asked the boss of the wheat workers, ‘This woman, who are her people?’” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
Eastern Bru: “Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi: ‘Let me go glean in the fields. If the owner of the field is pleased with me, then I will glean in that field..’ And Naomi answered: ‘All right, child. Go, go.’ So Ruth went to glean in the fields following those who were harvesting. She did not know she had come to the field of Boaz. Boaz was from the clan of Elimelech. So Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to his harvesters: ‘God be with you.’ They answered: ‘Yes. And God give to you blessings also.’ Then Boaz asked the person who oversaw the people who harvested for him: ‘That young woman is whose child?’ (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: (verses 4-5) “Now, Boaz arrived from Betlehem and he greeted the harvesters, ‘May the LORD help you(pl)!’ The harvesters replied, ‘May the LORD bless you(sg)!’ Then Boaz asked the servant whom he entrusted to supervise the harvesters, ‘Who is that young lady/woman?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One day Ruth said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the grain left behind by the workers.’ Naomi replied, ‘Go ahead, my daughter.’ So Ruth went to the fields and began to pick up some of the left-over grain. And it happened that she was working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the man from the clan of her dead father-in-law, Elimelech! Just then, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He greeted the men who were harvesting the grain, saying, ‘I want Yahweh to bless you!’ They replied, ‘We want Yahweh to bless you, too!’ Then Boaz saw Ruth, and asked the foreman/man in charge of the other workmen, ‘Whose daughter is that young woman?’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Instead of replying, “Go, my child,” to Ruth’s request, Naomi would have sounded more idiomatic in Chichewa by saying, “Alright, mother” (Chabwino, amai). The first word indicates her agreement with the request, the appellation shows her respect for her daughter-in-law. The use of personal names is completely taboo in such face-to-face dialogues (cp. Good News Bible — Naomi: “Now be patient, Ruth” (3:18). The relations between in-laws in a traditional environment are kept in an intricate social balance by an established set of status markers and terms of avoidance. This may be a minor stylistic matter, but when violations are compounded, especially in direct speech, it immediately brands the translation as being linguistically foreign.
There is also a problem of implication with the words ” . . . glean . . . after him in whose sight I shall find favor” (RSV). This would indicate that Ruth already had a specific person in mind. Thus the reference must be generalized; e.g., Good News Bible: “I am sure to find someone who . . . .”
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “come” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-ide (おいで), combining “come” (ide) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
In this short dialogue between Ruth and Naomi, the first verb in the Hebrew text introduces a desire on the part of Ruth, and it is followed by a particle which is roughly equivalent to “please” in English. Naomi’s answer is in the form of an imperative which expresses permission. Compare Joüon, par. 114, n. On the deprecative interjection -naʾ, see par. 105. Semantically, no politeness seems to be involved in its use. In many receptor languages the most natural equivalents would be “May I go to the fields to glean…?” and “Yes, go, my daughter.” Since there is a question followed by a response, it is often useful to have for the first verb of speaking a term such as “ask” or “request”—for example, “Ruth asked Naomi”—followed by a term such as “answer” or “reply”—for example, “Naomi responded.”
The name Ruth at the beginning of verse 2 is followed immediately by the emphasis upon her being a Moabite, so that literally the text reads “Ruth the Moabitess.” However, it is by no means always necessary to repeat this identification, For the Syriac translator also, this repetition seems to be superfluous. In 2.21, where he also omits “Moabitess,” he is even joined by Septuagint and Vulgate. though perhaps in the Hebrew text the repetition does have emphasis and may be a none-too-subtle way by which the author keeps reminding the reader of Ruth’s foreign background. (See comment on 1.22.)
In a number of languages there may be no technical term for “gleaning,” which means gathering up the heads of grain which the harvest workers left behind by accident. In many societies such a practice is simply not economically profitable, while in other parts of the world such grain is left on the ground for animals to eat. It is, of course, always possible to describe gleaning as “gathering up the heads of grain which were left behind by the harvest workers,” and it may be useful, therefore, to refer to certain Old Testament passages in which gleaning is mentioned (Lev 19.9-10; 23.22; Deut 24.19-22). It may even be useful to introduce a footnote; for example, “According to the law of the Hebrews, strangers, widows, orphans, and other poor people had the right to collect the ears of grain which had fallen from the hands of the reapers and were left behind in the field.”
That the harvest workers leave states explicitly what is implied in the Hebrew text. However, the harvest workers may require some explanation in certain languages, possibly a descriptive phrase which will more precisely designate what these people were doing; for example, “those who were cutting the grain,” “those who were harvesting the grain,” or “those who were gathering in the grain from the fields.”
Someone who will let me work with him is literally in Hebrew “after him in whose eyes I shall find favor.” This involves a rather frequent Hebrew idiom which occurs again in verses 10 and 13—though in the latter instance it is used primarily to indicate gratitude. In verse 2, however, it primarily involves permission, and it is translated in the New English Bible as “behind anyone who will grant me that favor.”
Go ahead is an idiomatic way of saying in English “Proceed to do what you have suggested.” In some languages this may be translated as “Go and do it” or “Do that.”
The word daughter, as has been noted in other instances, may need to be translated as “my daughter-in-law.” In fact, in some languages other terms of respect may be required, as Wendland states:
Instead of replying “Go, my child,” to Ruth’s request, Naomi would have sounded more idiomatic in Chewa by saying, “Alright, mother.” The first word shows her agreement with the request, the appellation shows her respect for her daughter-in-law. The use of personal names is completely taboo in such face-to-face dialogues. Wendland, The Cultural Factor, page 172.
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 .
And: This verse continues the story from 1:22b after the background information in 2:1. In some languages, it may be helpful to use a phrase. For example:
One day, (Good News Translation) -or-
Then,
Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi: Here, the Moabitess means “the woman from Moab.” (See Ruth 1:4, 22.) The identification that Ruth is a Moabite occurs seven times in the book to draw attention to her being a foreigner.
2:2b
Please let me go into the fields: Ruth was asking Naomi for permission to go to the fields to glean. Use the form that younger women use to ask older women for permission to do something.
the fields: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fields is singular. It probably refers to the entire area where crops were planted near Bethlehem. Different people owned different parts of the area, with the boundaries probably marked by rows or piles of stones. You should use a term that refers to this general area where people plant their crops.
and glean heads of grain: In Hebrew, the expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as glean heads of grain includes the technical verb “to glean.” (See “Gleaning and Harvesting” under “Important Cultural Items To Understand” in the Introduction for an explanation.) This refers to gathering grain that had fallen to the ground or that the reapers had not cut (intentionally or accidently). If your language does not have a specific word for “glean,” you may need to use a brief description. If you do use a descriptive phrase like this, you may want to use a shortened form of it for some of the later occurrences of “glean.”
Here are some other ways to translate this:
gather the grain that the harvest workers leave (Good News Translation) -or-
pick the grain left behind by the reapers (God’s Word) -or-
pick up the remaining stalks of grain -or-
gather grain after the harvesters
It may be helpful for you to insert a footnote here that explains that Old Testament law gave poor people the right to pick up grain that was left uncut or dropped. Here is a suggested footnote:
Old Testament law gave instructions to not harvest all the grain in a field at harvest time. Poor people, strangers, widows, and orphans had the right to harvest this grain that was left so they would have food. See Leviticus 19:9–10 and Deuteronomy 24:19–22.
heads of grain: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as heads of grain refers to stalks of grain including the grain itself (also referred to in English as the “ear” of the grain; New Revised Standard Version, for example, “the ears of grain”). If you have a specific term in your language for “stalks of grain” or “heads/ears of grain,” consider using it here. We know from Ruth 1:22 (and 2:22) that they were harvesting barley. If you don’t have a general word for grain, but have a word for barley (or similar grain like wheat), you could use it here.
after someone: The Hebrew preposition that the Berean Standard Bible translates as after refers to coming along behind the owner or his workers had completed cutting grain in an area to harvest it. This preposition can refer to either place or time. In this case, both are true. The gleaner worked in the field physically “behind” the other workers. In relation to time, he or she gleaned “after” the workers had finished harvesting grain and removed the bundles from that part of the field. But if your language does not have a preposition which can refer to both time or place in this way, choose one which refers to time, “after” the harvest workers.
in whose sight I may find favor: The Hebrew idiom often translated “to find favor in [someone’s] eyes” means to receive approval, favor, or goodwill from a person. Since the LORD had commanded his people to allow poor people to glean, it was not necessary to ask permission. However, Ruth wanted to glean in a field where the owner would treat her kindly. Because she was a foreigner, she realized that some owners might not be pleased to have her glean in their fields and might not allow it, in spite of the law.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
who shows me favor/goodwill -or-
who treats me kindly/well -or-
anyone who is kind enough to let me do it (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
who will permit me to do that
2:2c
“Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied: The Hebrew command that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Go ahead simply means “Go.” Naomi was giving Ruth permission to do as she asked. Make sure your translation includes this idea of giving permission.
my daughter: In some languages, it may be necessary to say “dear daughter-in-law.” Use the expression mothers-in-law use in your language to express affection to their daughters-in-law. See how you translated 1:11a.
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