2:20a
May he be blessed by the LORD: Naomi again asked the LORD to bless Boaz.
2:20b
who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as withdrawn His kindness is more literally “forsaken, abandoned.”
There are two interpretation issues in this clause. The first is whether His kindness is the object or the subject of the Hebrew clause. The possibilities are:
(1) His kindness is the object of the verb. According to this interpretation, “he” is the subject of the verb, and kindness is something that “he” has not abandoned or forsaken. For example:
he has not abandoned his loyalty to the living or to the dead (NET Bible)
(2) His kindness is the subject of the verb. According to this interpretation, God’s kindness has not abandoned or forsaken his people. For example:
whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead (New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
The second issue is that in Hebrew it is not clear who has not withdrawn His kindness. Scholars have interpreted the clause in two ways:
(1) The LORD is the subject of the verb. For example:
May he be blessed by the Lord, who never fails to show kindness to the living and to the dead. (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
(2) Boaz is the subject of the verb. For example:
May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead. (NET Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with the majority of English versions.
who has not withdrawn His kindness: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as withdrawn is more literally “abandoned” or “forsaken.” Naomi was saying that the LORD was still being kind and faithful to her family. The LORD was showing his kindness through Boaz.
In some languages, it may be more natural to say:
He has not stopped being kind
-or-
He has not stopped acting kindly
-or-
He has continued to act with kindness/faithfulness
His kindness: The Hebrew word ḥesed that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kindness means faithfulness, love, and loyalty. See also the note at 1:8d.
from the living: The phrase the living here refers to Naomi and Ruth. The LORD had been kind to them by guiding Ruth to the field of a relative who was generous to her.
or the dead: The phrase the dead here probably refers to Elimelech and his sons. Perhaps Naomi was already thinking that Boaz might act as a guardian-redeemer, marry Ruth, and so continue Elimelech’s family line. This would be considered a great kindness to Elimelech and his sons, who had all died.
2:20c
Naomi continued: The phrase Naomi continued indicates that Naomi continued speaking to Ruth. She started to talk about Boaz directly. Use the words that are normal in your language to indicate that the speaker continued to speak but changed the topic slightly.
The man is a close relative: Naomi referred to Boaz as The man. In some languages, it might not be polite to refer to a wealthy relative as The man. You should translate this with words that indicate respect.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
Boaz is a close relative (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
That gentleman/landowner is a close relative
a close relative: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a close relative is literally “close/near to us.” It is clear from the context that Naomi was talking of kinship and family ties. Naomi refers to him as a close relative even though Boaz was a relative of her deceased husband. In some languages, it may be necessary to say “a close relative of our family/husbands.”
2:20d
He is one of our kinsman-redeemers: In Israel, close relatives had a responsibility to preserve the property and family name of those related to them. The closest relatives—a brother, uncle, or cousin—had the main responsibility. These closest relatives were called kinsman-redeemers. By using this special term, Naomi was saying that Boaz was one of the men who had a close enough family relationship to help both her and Ruth.
In some languages, a term such as “guardian/kinsman-redeemer” may be misunderstood, because most people will associate it with Christ’s role as the redeemer of sinners.
In some languages, it may be necessary to translate kinsman-redeemers with a phrase that clarifies the meaning in the context of this book. For example:
one of those who is supposed to look after us (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
one who should take care of us (New Century Version)
-or-
one of those responsible for taking care of us (Good News Translation)
-or-
one of those who have responsibility to care for our family
-or-
a relative with the duty to help us
It is suggested that you use one or more of the above examples where the phrase kinsman-redeemer occurs in the source line. In this verse part, Naomi is speaking to Ruth, so the inclusive pronoun “us” is used. In other contexts, such as where Ruth speaks to Boaz, the exclusive pronoun should be used.
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