Ruth 4:2 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Ruth 4:1 And Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there. And behold, he that had the right of redemption, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. And he said, Thou, such a one, turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down.

Ruth 4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.

Ruth 4:3 And he said to him that had the right of redemption: Naomi, who is come back out of the country of Moab, sells the allotment that was our brother Elimelech's.

Ruth 4:4 And I thought I would apprise thee of it and say, Buy [it] in the presence of the inhabitants, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem [it], redeem; but if thou wilt not redeem, tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem [it].

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "took", "elders", "city", "said", "down", and "here". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "took" and "elders", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And Boaz went up to the gate..." into verse 3's "And he said to him that had...", so "took" and "elders" belong inside that flow. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "took" and "elders" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.