וַתֹּ֨אמֶר נָעֳמִ֜י לְכַלָּתָ֗הּ בָּר֥וּךְ הוּא֙ לַיהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹא־עָזַ֣ב חַסְדּ֔וֹ אֶת־הַחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַמֵּתִ֑ים:
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(Reading A) “Blessed is he to the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness with the living and with the dead."
(Reading B) “Blessed to the LORD is he who has not abandoned his kindness with the living and with the dead."
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(א) את החיים ואת המתים . שזן ומפרנס את החיים ונטפל בצורכי המתים :
"With the living and with the dead" - that He nourishes and supports the living and attends to the needs of the dead.
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וַתֹּאמֶר נָעֳמִי לְכַלָּתָהּ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לַה' אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָזַב חַסְדּוֹ אֶת הַחַיִּים (רות ב, כ), שֶׁזָּן וּפִרְנֵס אֶת הַחַיִּים. וְאֶת הַמֵּתִים, שֶׁנִּטְפַּל בְּתַכְרִיכֵיהוֹן.
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law: Blessed is he to the Lord, Who has not failed in his kindness toward the living - He nourished and supported the living; and toward the dead - He attended to their burial shrouds.
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(א) ותאמר נעמי לכלתה, תחלה נתנה לו ברכה אשר לא עזב חסדו את החיים כי הבינה שעשה זאת לפרנס עי"כ בכבוד את נעמי ורות שהם חיים והם ממשפחתו, ואת המתים כי הבינה ג"כ שיעשה חסד עם המתים ע"י יבום שבזה יעשה טובה לנפש המת.
"Naomi said to her daughter-in-law" - She began by blessing him [with the words] "who has not abandoned his kindness with the living", because she understood that what he had done was in order to honourably provide for Naomi and Ruth, who were living and of his kin, "and for the dead," since she also understood that he would show kindness to the dead by performing the levirate rituals, which do good for the soul of the dead.
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ברוך ה' אשר לא עזב חסדו. לאות כי עשה חסד בתחילה עם אלימלך ועם בניו כי שופט היה.
"Blessed is [he to] God, who has not abandoned his kindness." - this is evidence that he had performed kindness beforehand toward Elimelekh and his sons, for he was a chieftain.
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וַתֹּאמֶר וכדין אמרית נָעֳמִי נשמתא לְכַלָּתָהּ ליצרא טבא בָּרוּךְ הוּא לַיהֹוָה בריך שמיה דה' אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָזַב חַסְדּוֹ אֶת הַחַיִּים דלא שביק חסדא מחייא וְאֶת הַמֵּתִים ועתיד לאחייא מתיא.
Zohar - Midrash Hane'elam on Ruth
Thus said Naomi (the Soul) to her daughter-in-law (the Desire-for-Good): Blessed is he to the Lord! Blessed is the name of the Lord who does not withdraw His loving-kindness from the living, and is destined to resurrect the dead.
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פירוש יפת בן עלי על רות
קולהא אשר לא עזב חסדו יחתמל אנהא תשיר בה אלי אללה תעלי ויחתמל אנהא תשיר בה אלי בעז פהו ידל אל בעז קד פעל חסד ואמת מע אלימלך ובניו והם אלמתים.
Yefet ben 'Ali on Ruth (10th century)
Her saying אשר לא עזב חסדו - it is possible that it refers to God, may He be exalted; or it may refer to Boaz, [in which case] this indicates that Boaz had performed חסד ואמת toward Elimelekh and his sons, who are the מתים.
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תרגום רס"ג רות ב' כ'
יכון מבארכא ללה אלד'י לם יכ'ל פצ'לה מן אלחיה ואלמותי
Saadia Gaon (882-942)
"Blessed is he to the Lord, W/who has not withheld his kindness from the living and from the dead."
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וַאֲמַרַת נָעֳמִי לְכַלְּתַהּ מְבוֹרָךְ הוּא מִפּוּם קוּדְשָׁא דַּיָי דְּלָא שְׁבַק טֵיבוּתֵיהּ עִם חַיַיָּא וְעִם מֵתַיָּא וַאֲמַרַת לַהּ נָעֳמִי קָרִיב לַנָא גּוּבְרָא מִפְּרִיקָנָא הוּא:
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law: "Blessed be he by the holy mouth of the Lord, W/who has not withheld his kindness from the living or the dead. The man is a relative of ours," she continued. "He is of our redeemers."
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Septuagint Ruth 2:20
εὐλογητός ἐστιν τῷ κυρίῳ ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπεν τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ζώντων καὶ μετὰ τῶν τεθνηκότων
Septuagint Ruth 2:20
"Blessed is he to the Lord, because he has not abandoned [lit. left behind] his mercy with the living and with the dead.
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Vulgata - Liber Ruth II:xx
Benedictus sit a Domino quoniam eandem gratiam quam præbuerat vivis servavit et mortuis
Vulgate (4th century)
"May he be blessed by the Lord, because the same grace which he had shown to the living he preserved also to the dead."
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ܣܦܪܐ ܕܪܥܘܬ ܡܘܐܒܝܬܐ
בריך הו מריא דלא אעבר חסדא מן חיא ומן מתיא.
Peshitta (2nd century?)
"Blessed is the Lord, who has not removed His kindness from the living and from the dead."
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Vetus Latina - Ruth II:xx
Benedictus est dominus qui non derelinquid misericordiam suam cum uibis et cum mortuis
Old Latin (approx. 4th Century)
"Blessed is the Lord, who has not abandoned his kindness with the living and with the dead."
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Nelson Glueck
It is very doubtful whether the dead, who in the Hebrew Bible generally are described as having absolutely no relationship with God, can appear here as receiving hesed from God. The passage beginning with אשר לא עזב is to be understood as referring to Boaz. It is he who had shown hesed to the living and the dead.
(Glueck, Nelson. "Hesed in the Bible (trans. Alfred Gottschalk)." (1967): 41.)
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Prof. Richard Steiner
... Steiner argued that חסדו should be taken as the subject of the verb עזב, as in II Sam 7:15, חסדי לא יסור ממנו ("My kindness shall not depart from him"), since עזב את ("to leave," "to abandon") is a synonym of סר מן (qal; "to depart from"), not הסיר מן (hif'il; "to remove from"). In that case, את would be the direct object marker, indicating החיים והמתים as the (compound) object, yielding the translation, "Blessed is he to the Lord, whose kindness has not left the living or the dead."
(cited in Cohen, Mordechai. "Hesed: Divine or Human? The Syntactic Ambiguity of Ruth 2: 20." Hazon Nahum: Studies in Jewish Law, Thought, and History Presented to Dr. Norman Lamm: 11-12.)
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Paul Joüon, Ruth
On ne peut pas dire que Boaz ait gardé sa bonté envers Noémi et surtout envers Ruth qu'il ne conaissait pas, ni envers Elimèlek et ses fils.
Paul Joüon
One cannot say that Boaz had preserved his kindness toward Naomi, and certainly not toward Ruth, whom he did not know, nor toward Elimelekh and his sons.
(Joüon, Paul. Ruth: commentaire philologique et exégétique. Institut biblique pontifical, 1953. 63.)
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Mordechai Cohen
"The long history of readings A and B, supported by exegetical intuitions and hard biblical evidence, precludes definitively favoring one reading over the other. Yet there is still one possibility left in the quagmire of unprovable contentions, one that in fact builds upon their very inconclusiveness. Instead of regarding the ambiguity as a stylistic flaw and exegetical nuisance, we can exploit it by viewing Ruth 2:20 as deliberately ambiguous, specifically designed to simultaneously convey both readings."
(Cohen, Mordechai. "Hesed: Divine or Human? The Syntactic Ambiguity of Ruth 2: 20." Hazon Nahum: Studies in Jewish Law, Thought, and History Presented to Dr. Norman Lamm: 32.)
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(ה) וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח דָּוִד֙ מַלְאָכִ֔ים אֶל־אַנְשֵׁ֖י יָבֵ֣ישׁ גִּלְעָ֑ד וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם בְּרֻכִ֤ים אַתֶּם֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר עֲשִׂיתֶ֜ם הַחֶ֣סֶד הַזֶּ֗ה עִם־אֲדֹֽנֵיכֶם֙ עִם־שָׁא֔וּל וַֽתִּקְבְּר֖וּ אֹתֽוֹ׃
(5) So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed of the LORD because you performed this act of faithfulness to your lord Saul and buried him.
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(טו) בְּרוּכִ֣ים אַ֭תֶּם לַיהוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃
(15) May you be blessed by the LORD, Maker of heaven and earth.
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(יט) וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר בָּר֤וּךְ אַבְרָם֙ לְאֵ֣ל עֶלְי֔וֹן קֹנֵ֖ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃
(19) He blessed him, saying, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
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(כא) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁא֔וּל בְּרוּכִ֥ים אַתֶּ֖ם לַֽיהוָ֑ה כִּ֥י חֲמַלְתֶּ֖ם עָלָֽי׃
(21) And Saul replied, “May you be blessed of the LORD for the compassion you have shown me!
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(י) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בְּרוּכָ֨ה אַ֤תְּ לַֽיהוָה֙ בִּתִּ֔י הֵיטַ֛בְתְּ חַסְדֵּ֥ךְ הָאַחֲר֖וֹן מִן־הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן לְבִלְתִּי־לֶ֗כֶת אַחֲרֵי֙ הַבַּ֣חוּרִ֔ים אִם־דַּ֖ל וְאִם־עָשִֽׁיר׃
(10) He exclaimed, “Be blessed of the LORD, daughter! Your latest deed of loyalty is greater than the first, in that you have not turned to younger men, whether poor or rich.
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(כז) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בָּר֤וּךְ יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹֽא־עָזַ֥ב חַסְדּ֛וֹ וַאֲמִתּ֖וֹ מֵעִ֣ם אֲדֹנִ֑י אָנֹכִ֗י בַּדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ נָחַ֣נִי יְהוָ֔ה בֵּ֖ית אֲחֵ֥י אֲדֹנִֽי׃
(27) and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by the LORD, to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”
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(ח) וַתֹּ֤אמֶר נָעֳמִי֙ לִשְׁתֵּ֣י כַלֹּתֶ֔יהָ לֵ֣כְנָה שֹּׁ֔בְנָה אִשָּׁ֖ה לְבֵ֣ית אִמָּ֑הּ יעשה [יַ֣עַשׂ] יְהוָ֤ה עִמָּכֶם֙ חֶ֔סֶד כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר עֲשִׂיתֶ֛ם עִם־הַמֵּתִ֖ים וְעִמָּדִֽי׃
(8) But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Turn back, each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me!
Medieval Commentaries
Ancient Translations
Modern Scholarship
Biblical Parallels
As many scholars and commentators have pointed out over the centuries, Naomi's blessing in Ruth 2:20 admits two possible readings, shown below as A and B. This sheet displays the various understandings of the verse from ancient and modern texts. Sources in blue favour a reading that describes God's kindness (A); sources in red read the blessing as describing the kindness of Boaz, and humanity in general (B). Sources in green admit both readings.
Feel welcome to add additional sources yourselves in the relevant sections. You can also view the sheet as a horizontal flowchart here.