These verses form an important unit, even though the structure of verse 11 is normal prose, whereas verse 12 has a type of poetic structure. It consists of two lines with the meter 3 + 3; 3 + 2 + 2, with the following units: // The LORD recompense you for what you have done / and a full reward be given to you // by the LORD the God of Israel / under whose wings / you have come to take refuge. // If one can conveniently reproduce in translation something of the poetic structure of verse 12, this is fine; but it is seldom that one can do justice to such a short poetic portion embedded within what is essentially a prose structure.
The expression I have heard about everything may be rendered in some languages as “people have told me about.”
Your own country represents a Hebrew expression which may be rendered as “land of your kindred” or “land of your birth.” It occurs only three times in the patriarchal stories (Gen 11.28; 24.7; 31.13) and three times in the prophets (Jer 22.10; 46.16; Ezek 22.15). In some languages an equivalent is “the place where you were born” or “the land of your tribe.” Even a translation such as “your tribe” may be employed. This is the translation found in the Syriac version.
In some languages it may be necessary to employ two verbs for left, since the action of leaving one’s father and mother may be quite different from that of leaving one’s own country. In the first instance one may need to say “You left behind your father and mother,” and in the second instance “you departed from your own country.”
A people you had never known before is in some languages “a new people” or “a people that you were not acquainted with previously.” It is important to avoid the implication that Ruth had never known about such people. It is the act of experiencing which is important in this context. Therefore in some languages one must translate “among a people that you have never before had any dealings with” or “among a people with whom you have never lived before.”
In some languages verse 12 may require considerable restructuring. This has already been done in one of the ancient versions: “The LORD, the God of Israel, reward your deed; he, under whose wings you have come for refuge, give you a full reward.” This is the text according to the Syriac version. The difficult construction “may your reward be full from the LORD, the God of Israel” has been transformed into “may he give you a full reward,” whereas the nominal phrase “the God of Israel” has been added in apposition to the subject “LORD” in the first clause. But in many languages it is difficult to use this type of third-person request; therefore one must often have some introductory expression such as “pray,” “entreat,” or “request”; for example, “I pray that the LORD will reward you.”
In a number of languages reward is equivalent to “pay you in exchange,” “give you a prize for,” or “compensate you in exchange for”; for example, “I pray that the LORD will pay you back for all that you have done,” “… give you a gift…,” “… show a special favor….” In this context it is important to note that it must be a positive benefit or gift and not some kind of punishment, which would often be the interpretation of the expression “pay you back for what you have done.”
To whom you have come for protection is literally in Hebrew “under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” It is not clear to what kind of imagery the “wings” belong. One normally thinks of the wings of a bird, but some commentators believe that this is a reference to the wings of the cherubim, So Gerleman, op. cit., ad loc. or even the wings of the winged sun-disk. Compare A. Lods, op. cit., pages 534-535: “Exceptionnellement Yahvé était représenté par le disque ailé, et on lui appliquait les métaphores de la théologie solaire.” It is even possible that the interpretation of wings of a bird and wings of the cherubim were both associated with this Hebrew phrase from a very early time, so that the two images in a sense reinforced each other. Compare J. Ridderbos, De Psalmen I, Kampen, 1955, on Psalm 17.8. The use of a verb meaning “to cover” or “to seek shelter” does, of course, suggest the imagery of the bird. See also Translator’s Handbook on Luke on 13.34. Some persons, however, have proposed to change the imagery completely and to render the Hebrew word not as “wings” but as “skirts.” So in The Century Bible, a new edition based on the RSV, edited by John Gray, 1967, pages 414-415. Though this is a possible translation, it is a highly improbable one. It is true that the word occurs with this meaning in 3.9, where Ruth asks Boaz to spread his skirt over her. But there the symbolism of the act implies both protection and union. On the other hand, it is only once stated in the Old Testament that the LORD spreads his skirt over someone, but that is in the highly figurative speech of Ezekiel 16.8, where the relation between Yahweh and Israel is described in a wedding metaphor. On the contrary, the metaphor of the wings having Yahweh as the object of the comparison is quite frequent in poetic literature, though limited to the Psalms: 17.8; 36.8; 57.2; 61.5; 63.8; 91.4. The basis for the comparison is made quite clear in the phrase “to take refuge.” Because of this, it is sometimes possible to retain the expression “under whose wings,” because one can state precisely what this figure of speech implies; for example, “may the LORD give you a full reward, since you have come to him to seek shelter as under the wings of a bird.”
Though the retention of the figure of speech “under his wings” is very desirable, it is sometimes very difficult to understand, particularly in this kind of very short poetic structure. For that reason Good News Translation uses to whom you have come for protection.
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 .