Passage

Ruth 3.4

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor. 3. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing-floor, but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

And she said unto her, All that thou sayest I will do. 6. And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. (Ruth 3:2-6, ASV)

WEB

2. Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor. 3. Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor, but don’t make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

4. It shall be, when he lies down, that you shall note the place where he is lying. Then you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lay down. Then he will tell you what to do.”

She said to her, “All that you say, I will do.” 6. She went down to the threshing floor, and did everything that her mother-in-law told her. (Ruth 3:2-6, WEB)

KJV

2. And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. ^{uncover: or, lift up the clothes that are on}

And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. 6. And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. (Ruth 3:2-6, KJV)

YLT

2. and now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night, 3. and thou hast bathed, and anointed thyself, and put thy garments upon thee, and gone down to the threshing-floor; let not thyself be known to the man till he complete to eat and to drink;

4. and it cometh to pass when he lieth down, that thou hast known the place where he lieth down, and hast gone in, and uncovered his feet, and lain down,, and he doth declare to thee that which thou dost do.'

And she saith unto her, 'All that thou sayest, I do.' 6. And she goeth down [to] the threshing-floor, and doth according to all that her mother-in-law commanded her (Ruth 3:2-6, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Naomi, in direct speech
Audience: Ruth, her daughter-in-law
Location: Naomi's home in Beth-lehem; the instructions concern the threshing-floor where Boaz is winnowing (Ruth 3:2)
Time period: the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), at the end of harvest (2:23)

Theological reading

"Thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do." Naomi's plan is a bold, private appeal to Boaz as a kinsman. The KJV margin glosses "uncover" as "lift up the clothes that are on" his feet. Readers dispute how much the scene implies; the narrative answers by how it unfolds. Boaz blesses Ruth for her conduct (3:10), calls her "a worthy woman" (3:11), she lies "at his feet until the morning" (3:14), and he settles the matter by public law at the gate (4:1-10).

Naomi expects Boaz to take the lead: "he will tell thee what thou shalt do." Ruth agrees, "All that thou sayest I will do" (3:5), but at the threshing-floor she speaks first and states the request herself: "spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman" (3:9). Boaz then promises, "I will do to thee all that thou sayest" (3:11). The one who was to be told what to do does the telling.

The word Ruth uses for "skirt" is the word Boaz used for the "wings" of Jehovah under which she had come to take refuge (2:12; both Strong's H3671 in the KJV). Naomi's plan gives Ruth the occasion to ask Boaz to be the answer to his own blessing.

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.

H3045 - yada, yada, Strong's H3045
H6213 - asah, asah, Strong's H6213

Notes

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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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.