Ruth 4:2

Christian Standard Bible ®

Then Boaz took ten men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He took ten men of the Zakenim of the city, and said, Sit you down here. They sat down.

King James Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

Lexham English Bible
And he took ten men from the elders of the city and said, "Sit here." And they sat.

English Standard Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

New Century Version
Boaz gathered ten of the elders of the city and told them, "Sit down here!" So they sat down.

New English Translation
Boaz chose ten of the village leaders and said, "Sit down here!" So they sat down.

Amplified Bible
Then Boaz took ten men from the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." And they sat down.

New American Standard Bible
Then he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then he tooke ten men of the Elders of the citie, and sayd, Sit ye downe here. And they sate downe.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

Contemporary English Version
Then Boaz got ten of the town leaders and also asked them to sit down. After they had sat down,

Complete Jewish Bible
He took ten of the city's leaders and said, "Sit down here"; and they sat down.

Darby Translation
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.

Easy-to-Read Version
Boaz also gathered ten of the elders of the city. He told them, "Sit here!" So they sat down.

George Lamsa Translation
And Boaz selected ten men of the elders of the city, and seated them by him.

Good News Translation
Then Boaz got ten of the leaders of the town and asked them to sit down there too. When they were seated,

Literal Translation
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& he toke ten men of the Elders of ye cite, & sayde: Syt you downe here. And they sat the downe.

American Standard Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

Bible in Basic English
Then he got ten of the responsible men of the town, and said, Be seated here. And they took their seats.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he toke ten men of the elders of the citie, and said: sit ye downe here. And they sat downe.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said: 'Sit ye down here.' And they sat down.

King James Version (1611)
And hee tooke ten men of the Elders of the citie, and said, Sit ye downe here. And they sate downe.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Booz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye here; and they sat down.

English Revised Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Boaz took ten of the elders of the city and said, "Sit here," and they did so.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Booz took ten `men of the eldere men of the citee, and seide to hem, Sitte ye here.

Young's Literal Translation
And he taketh ten men of the elders of the city, and saith, `Sit down here;' and they sit down.

Update Bible Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

World English Bible
He took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit you down here. They sat down.

New King James Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

New Living Translation
Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses.

New Life Bible
And Boaz took ten of the leaders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

New Revised Standard
Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here"; so they sat down.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then fetched he ten men of the elders of the city, and said - Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Booz, taking ten men of the ancients of the city, said to them: Sit ye down here.

Revised Standard Version
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here"; so they sat down.

THE MESSAGE
Boaz then gathered ten of the town elders together and said, "Sit down here with us; we've got some business to take care of." And they sat down.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.

Contextual Overview

¹Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz said, “Come over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. ²Then Boaz took ten men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. ³He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the territory of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴I thought I should inform you: Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do it. But if you do not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” ⁵Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you will acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.” ⁶The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.” ⁷At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel. ⁸So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the elders: Exodus 18:21, Exodus 18:22, Exodus 21:8, Deuteronomy 29:10, Deuteronomy 31:28, 1 Kings 21:8, Proverbs 31:23, Lamentations 5:14, Acts 6:12

Reciprocal: Joshua 20:4 - at the entering Job 29:7 - General Isaiah 8:2 - I took

Cross-References

Genesis 3:23
So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

Genesis 4:25
Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has given me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

Genesis 4:26
A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 9:20
Noah, as a man of the soil, began by planting a vineyard.

Genesis 37:13
Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.”

Genesis 47:3
And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

Exodus 3:1
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Psalms 127:3
Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,offspring, a reward.

Amos 7:15
But the Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”

Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he took ten men of the elders of the city,.... Who were such, not merely in age but in office, who were the heads of thousands, fifties, and tens; ten of whom were a quorum to do business in judiciary affairs, to determine such matters as Boaz had propose, as to whom the right of redemption of a brother and kinsman's widow, and her estate, belonged, and who were the proper witnesses of the refusal of the one to do it, and of the other's doing it and from hence the Jews e gather, that the blessing of the bride and bridegroom at their marriage is not to be done by less than ten persons:

and said, sit down here, and they sat down; and so made a full court.

e Misnah Megillah, c. 4. sect. 3. T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 7. 1. Midrash Ruth, fol. 35. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Every city was governed by elders (see Deuteronomy 19:12; Judges 8:14). For the number “ten,” compare Exodus 18:25. Probably the presence of, at least, ten elders was necessary to make a lawful public assembly, as among modern Jews ten (a minyon) are necessary to constitute a synagogue.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ruth 4:2. He took ten men — Probably it required this number to constitute a court. How simple and how rational was this proceeding!

1. The man who had a suit went to the city gates.

2. Here he stopped till the person with whom he had the suit came to the gate on his way to his work.

3. He called him by name, and he stopped and sat down.

4. Then ten elders were called, and they came and sat down.

5. When all this was done, the appellant preferred his suit.

6. Then the appellee returned his answer.

7. When the elders heard the case, and the response of the appellee, they pronounced judgment, which judgment was always according to the custom of the place.

8. When this was done, the people who happened to be present witnessed the issue.

And thus the business was settled without lawyers or legal casuistry. A question of this kind, in one of our courts of justice, in these enlightened times, would require many days' previous preparation of the attorney, and several hours' arguing between counsellor Botherum and counsellor Borum, till even an enlightened and conscientious judge would find it extremely difficult to decide whether Naomi might sell her own land, and whether Boaz or Peloni might buy it! O, glorious uncertainty of modern law!