# Ruth 4.14-15 **Book:** [Ruth](/codex/ruth/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 12. and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman. 13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son. > > **14. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel. 15. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.** > > 16. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17. And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. (Ruth 4:12-17, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 12. Let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the offspring which Yahweh will give you by this young woman.” 13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and Yahweh enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son. > > **14. The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you today without a near kinsman. Let his name be famous in Israel. 15. He shall be to you a restorer of life, and sustain you in your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”** > > 16. Naomi took the child, and laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to it. 17. The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi”. They named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. (Ruth 4:12-17, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 12. And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. 13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. > > **14. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. left: Heb. caused to cease unto thee kinsman: or, redeemer 15. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. a nourisher of: Heb. to nourish thine: Heb. thy gray hairs** > > 16. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17. And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. (Ruth 4:12-17, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 12. and let thy house be as the house of Pharez (whom Tamar bare to Judah), of the seed which Jehovah doth give to thee of this young woman.' 13. And Boaz taketh Ruth, and she becometh his wife, and he goeth in unto her, and Jehovah giveth to her conception, and she beareth a son. > > **14. And the women say unto Naomi, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath not let a redeemer cease to thee to-day, and his name is proclaimed in Israel, 15. and he hath been to thee for a restorer of life, and for a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law who hath loved thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.'** > > 16. And Naomi taketh the lad, and layeth him in her bosom, and is to him for a nurse; 17. and the neighbouring women give to him a name, saying, 'There hath been a son born to Naomi,' and they call his name Obed; he [is] father of Jesse, father of David. (Ruth 4:12-17, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** the women of Beth-lehem, in direct speech - **Audience:** Naomi - **Location:** Beth-lehem - **Time period:** the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), after the birth of Ruth's son (Ruth 4:13) ## Theological reading The women's blessing reverses Naomi's lament point by point. She said, "Jehovah hath brought me home again empty" (1:21); they say Jehovah "hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman." She had asked, "have I yet sons in my womb?" (1:11); they say Ruth "is better to thee than seven sons." "A restorer of life" is, in the KJV's Strong's tagging, H7725 with H5315: the return verb [*shuv*](/codex/h7725-shuv/) that runs through chapter 1, and [*nephesh*](/codex/h5315-nephesh/), life or soul. The book that began with Naomi returning bitter ends with a child who returns life to her. "A nourisher of thine old age" (KJV margin "thy gray hairs") promises care in the years she had thought would be empty. The praise of Ruth is the highest in the book. Seven sons was a picture of a full family, as in "the barren hath borne seven" (1 Samuel 2:5), and the women count the Moabite daughter-in-law as worth more, "who loveth thee." Love for Naomi is the quality that first drew Boaz's notice (2:11), and the townspeople name it at the end. The near kinsman, [*goel*](/codex/h1350-goel/) (KJV margin "or, redeemer"), is here the child: the redemption begun by Boaz is secured in an heir. ## 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._ - [H1350 - goel](/codex/h1350-goel/), *goel*, Strong's H1350 - [H2896 - tov](/codex/h2896-tov/), *tov*, Strong's H2896 - [H5315 - nephesh](/codex/h5315-nephesh/), *nephesh*, Strong's H5315 - [H8034 - shem](/codex/h8034-shem/), *shem*, Strong's H8034 - [H7725 - shuv](/codex/h7725-shuv/), *shuv*, Strong's H7725 - [H1121 - ben](/codex/h1121-ben/), *ben*, Strong's H1121 ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Gentiles Cannot Be Saved Objection Defeater](/codex/gentiles-cannot-be-saved-objection-defeater/), via [Ruth 4.13-22](/codex/ruth-4-13-22/) ## 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.