# Ruth 3.17 **Book:** [Ruth](/codex/ruth/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 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 3:15-18, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 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 3:15-18, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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 3:15-18, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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 3:15-18, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** Ruth, in direct speech, reporting the words of Boaz - **Audience:** Naomi, her mother-in-law - **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 "These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law." This is the last line Ruth speaks in the book. Her first recorded words in Israel were "Let me now go to the field, and glean" (2:2); her last reports a gift given in Naomi's name. From gleaning to being given, the movement of the story is in her two speeches. "Empty" is Strong's H7387 in the KJV, the word of Naomi's complaint on her arrival in Bethlehem: "I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty" (1:21). Boaz's instruction, which the narrator kept back until this moment (it is not reported in 3:15), answers that complaint directly. The answer begins in grain and is completed in a son laid in Naomi's bosom (4:16). The KJV tags no Hebrew word for "measures"; the unit is supplied by the translators, and the amount had to be something Ruth could carry back to the city on her mantle (3:15). What the verse fixes is the purpose, not the weight. Boaz's generosity is aimed at Naomi's emptiness, and Naomi recognises it. ## 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.