OET interlinear RUTH 1:1

1:1a

In the days when the judges ruled: The phrase that the BSB translates as days when the judges ruled is literally “in the days of the judging of the judges.” It refers to a time period of about three hundred years when judges ruled the country of Israel. After that time period, kings ruled the country.

Here are some ways to translate this phrase:

• Make explicit the role/function of the judges.

  In the days when the Judges were governing (NJB)

• Leave implicit the role/function of the judges. For example:

  During the time of the judges (NET)

• Make explicit the location where the judges ruled. For example:

  Long ago when the judges ruled Israel (NCV)

the judges: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as the judges refers to the leaders or chiefs who ruled in Israel at that time.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

In the days when the chieftains ruled (NJPS)

During the time that leaders ruled/governed

the: The definite article the implies that the audience of this story already knew who the judges were. If this is new information to your readers, it may be better to translate “judges” without the definite article. For example:

During the time when judges ruled

ruled: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as ruled is literally “judged.” They judged by deciding what was right and what was wrong when problems were brought to them, and then they gave their decisions to the people involved. However, their activities were more varied than the activities of a judge in most cultures today. They also led the people to fight against any oppressors.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

governed (NASB)

led the people

1:1b

there was a famine: This clause means that there was not enough food for people to eat. In Hebrew, the word famine is also the word “hunger.” The verse does not give a cause of the famine. However, lack of rain was a common cause and is probably implied here.Lack of rain as the cause of the famine is suggested by ZIBBC (pages 244–245), ZECOT (page 64), and UBS (page 6). If your language requires you to give a reason for the famine, you can make explicit that this famine was the result of a lack of rain.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

there was a shortage of food (NCV)

many people were hungry

Be careful to translate famine in a way that does not imply that the famine lasted the entire time that the judges ruled. The famine lasted for a period of years, but the judges ruled for hundreds of years.

in the land: This phrase refers to the land of Israel. The famine was probably widespread throughout the country.

Here are some ways to translate this phrase:

• Make the referent of the phrase explicit. For example:

  there was a famine in the land of Israel

• Leave the referent of the phrase implied. For example:

  there was a famine in the land (ESV)

• Substitute a different word or phrase. For example:

  a famine occurred in the country (NJB)

  many people were hungry thereThis example is an option if you have made explicit the phrase “in Israel” in 1:1a.

1:1c–d

And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab: Here are some ways to indicate the connection of this clause to the previous clause. Any of these options is acceptable:

• Indicate that this clause is the result of the famine that is described in the previous clause. For example:

  So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. (NET)

• Indicate that this clause is the next action in the story. For example:

  and a man of Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the country of Moab. (NJPS)

• Leave the connection to the previous clause implied. For example:

  A man from Bethlehem in Judah went with his wife and two sons to live for a while in the country of Moab. (GW)

1:1c

a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “he went a man from Bethlehem Judah.” There are two main interpretations of this phrase:WBC (pages 62–63) says that “It is syntactically impossible to tell whether “from Bethlehem in Judah” modifies the verb “went” (i.e., “went from Bethlehem in Judah”) or the noun “man” (i.e., “a man from Bethlehem in Judah”).

1. The home of the man was Bethlehem in Judah. For example:

   a man from Bethlehem in Judah (NET) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GNT, GW, KJV, NABRE, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB)

2. The man departed from Bethlehem in Judah. For example:

   So a man named Elimelech left the town of Bethlehem in Judah (NCV) (NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.

a certain man: This phrase introduces the first character in the story. In this verse, the author does not say the name of the man.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

a man (NIV)

In some languages, it may be more natural to introduce the character by name instead of using the phrase a certain man. See the 1:1–2 paragraph description for an example.

Bethlehem in Judah: This phrase refers to the town of Bethlehem in the region of Judah.

Judah: Judah was the name of the region where the descendants of Judah, son of Jacob, lived. It was in the southern part of the land of Israel. See the map of Judah in the section description.

1:1d

with his wife and two sons: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “he his wife and his two sons.” This phrase introduces additional characters in the story. They are the family members of “a certain man from Bethlehem.”

In the Hebrew phrase, the man is the subject. The family members are described in relation to him, as “his wife” and “his two sons.”

Here are some ways to translate this phrase:

• Translate more literally. For example:

  he and his wife and his two sons (ESV)

• Translate in a way that refers to both parents. For example:

  with his wife…and their two sons (GNT)

• Leave the pronoun “his” implied in the second part of the phrase. For example:

  with his wife and two sons (REB)

Translate this introduction of the family members in a way that is natural in your language.

went to reside: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as to reside means “dwell as a stranger.”NIDOTTE (page 836): dwell as a stranger, become a refugee, BDB (page 157): 1. sojourn, dwell for a (definite or indef.) time, dwell as a new-comer without original rights. In this verse, the Hebrew word referred to a temporary stay.According to WBC (page 63), “The verb in and of itself does not necessarily connote a temporary stay…for many “resident aliens” lived in a community more or less permanently. A move because of famine, however, would normally suggest that it was not intended to be permanent.”

in the land of Moab: Moab is a region that is located to the east of Judah.To get to Moab, Elimelech and his family probably traveled about eighty kilometers (fifty miles). They would have traveled east from Bethlehem around the north end of the Dead Sea, and then south into Moab. Moab is south and east from Israel, on the east side of the Dead Sea. See the map in the section description.

In this phrase, the Hebrew word that the BSB translates as land means “field,” “country” or “land.”TWOT #2236b. The majority of versions translate this word as “country.” However, in this verse, the word could have any of these meanings.ZECOT (page 68) says that this Hebrew word “usually refers to land as a field that has been brought under human occupation and cultivation.” See also NICOT (pages 86–87).

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

on the plateauNICOT (page 86) suggests that the Hebrew word may refer to a “fertile plateau about twenty-five miles wide along (and several thousand feet above) the Dead sea’s eastern shore.” of Moab (NAB)

in the country of Moab (NIV)

In the region of Moab (NET)