# Ruth 3.16-17 **Book:** [Ruth](/codex/ruth/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 14. And she lay at his feet until the morning. And she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor. 15. And he said, Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it; and she held it; and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and he went into the city. > > **16. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. 17. And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.** > > 18. Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this day. (Ruth 3:14-18, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 14. She lay at his feet until the morning, then she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15. He said, “Bring the mantle that is on you, and hold it.” She held it; and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; then he went into the city. > > **16. When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” She told her all that the man had done for her. 17. She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley; for he said, ‘Don’t go empty to your mother-in-law.’”** > > 18. Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know what will happen; for the man will not rest until he has settled this today.” (Ruth 3:14-18, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 14. And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. 15. Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. vail: or, sheet, or, apron > > **16. And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. 17. And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.** > > 18. Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. (Ruth 3:14-18, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 14. And she lieth down at his feet till the morning, and riseth before one doth discern another; and he saith, 'Let it not be known that the woman hath come into the floor.' 15. And he saith, 'Give the covering which [is] on thee, and keep hold on it;' and she keepeth hold on it, and he measureth six [measures] of barley, and layeth [it] on her; and he goeth into the city. > > **16. And she cometh in unto her mother-in-law, and she saith, 'Who [art] thou, my daughter?' and she declareth to her all that the man hath done to her. 17. And she saith, 'These six [measures] of barley he hath given to me, for he said, Thou dost not go in empty unto thy mother-in-law.'** > > 18. And she saith, 'Sit still, my daughter, till thou dost know how the matter falleth, for the man doth not rest except he hath completed the matter to-day.' (Ruth 3:14-18, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** Naomi (verse 16), then Ruth (verse 17), framed by the narrator - **Audience:** each other - **Location:** Naomi's home in Beth-lehem - **Time period:** the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), early on the morning after the night at the threshing-floor (Ruth 3:14) ## Theological reading "Who art thou, my daughter?" Naomi asks the same question Boaz asked at midnight, "Who art thou?" (3:9). In Boaz's mouth it asked for a name; in Naomi's it asks what has become of Ruth. Is she still a widow without prospects, or has something been settled? "And she told her all that the man had done to her." "These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law." The narrator did not report these words when Boaz measured out the barley (3:15). They appear only now, in Ruth's report, at the point where they matter to Naomi. "Empty" is Strong's H7387 in the KJV, and the KJV tags it only twice in Ruth: here, and in Naomi's lament, "Jehovah hath brought me home again empty" (1:21). The gift is a pledge addressed to Naomi. The woman who came home empty receives grain sent by name, and the barley says what Boaz has not yet been able to do publicly. Naomi reads it that way at once: "the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this day" (3:18). ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.