Passage

Ruth 3.8

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

6. And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. 7. 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.

And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. 10. And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter: thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. (Ruth 3:6-10, ASV)

WEB

6. She went down to the threshing floor, and did everything that her mother-in-law told her. 7. 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.

He said, “Who are you?” She answered, “I am Ruth your servant. Therefore spread the corner of your garment over your servant; for you are a near kinsman.” 10. He said, “You are blessed by Yahweh, my daughter. You have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, because you didn’t follow young men, whether poor or rich. (Ruth 3:6-10, WEB)

KJV

6. And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. 7. 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}

And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. ^{a near: or, one that hath right to redeem} 10. And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. (Ruth 3:6-10, KJV)

YLT

6. And she goeth down [to] the threshing-floor, and doth according to all that her mother-in-law commanded her 7. 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.

And he saith, 'Who [art] thou?' and she saith, 'I [am] Ruth thy handmaid, and thou hast spread thy skirt over thy handmaid, for thou [art] a redeemer.' 10. And he saith, 'Blessed [art] thou of Jehovah, my daughter; thou hast dealt more kindly at the latter end than at the beginning, not to go after the young men, either poor or rich. (Ruth 3:6-10, 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, 6)
Time period: the period of the judges (Ruth 1:1), during the harvest that began "in the beginning of barley harvest" (1:22)

Theological reading

"And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet." The KJV margin gives an alternative for "turned himself," "or, took hold on." The narrator tells the scene from Boaz's side: startled in the dark, he finds someone at his feet.

Ruth had "uncovered his feet, and laid her down" as Naomi directed (3:4, 7). The next verse shows that her purpose was an honorable request, not seduction: "spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman" (3:9). Boaz responds by praising her "kindness" (3:10) and by protecting her reputation, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor" (3:14).

The scene could have ended in scandal. It ends instead in a promise made "as Jehovah liveth" (3:13). The narrator's restraint lets the characters' integrity carry the moment.

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.