Passage

Ruth 3.6

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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. 5. 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.

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 8. And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. (Ruth 3:4-8, ASV)

WEB

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.” 5. 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.

When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. She came softly, uncovered his feet, and laid down. 8. At midnight, the man was startled and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet. (Ruth 3:4-8, WEB)

KJV

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} 5. 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.

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 8. And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. ^{turned: or, took hold on} (Ruth 3:4-8, KJV)

YLT

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.' 5. 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

And Boaz eateth and drinketh, and his heart is glad; and he goeth in to lie down at the end of the heap; and she cometh in gently, and uncovereth his feet, and lieth down. 8. And it cometh to pass, at the middle of the night, that the man trembleth, and turneth himself, and lo, a woman is lying at his feet. (Ruth 3:4-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the narrator of Ruth, an anonymous storyteller
Audience: the readers of the book
Location: the threshing-floor where Boaz was winnowing barley (Ruth 3:2)
Time period: the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), the night after the winnowing, at the end of harvest (2:23)

Theological reading

"And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her." The verse is a summary heading for the scene that follows (3:7-15), and it fulfils Ruth's promise word for word: "All that thou sayest I will do" (3:5).

The summary is true but not complete. Ruth does follow Naomi's steps, waiting until Boaz has eaten and lain down (3:7), but at the decisive moment she adds what Naomi had not told her to say: "spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman" (3:9). Obedience to Naomi and initiative of her own sit side by side. Ruth carries out the plan and then names what it is for.

The risk is real. A foreign woman at a threshing-floor at night could be misjudged, which is why Boaz later says, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor" (3:14). The narrator records Ruth's compliance first, before any of that, so the reader meets the scene already knowing she acted in good faith toward her mother-in-law.

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.

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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.