Ruth 3
The full text of Ruth 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.
2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do."
5 "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered.
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned over and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
9 "Who are you?" he asked. "I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family."
10 "The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
11 And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.
12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I.
13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to act as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, "No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor."
15 He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?" Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her
17 and added, "He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'"
18 Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."
Translation notes (12)
- Ruth 3:1a The word "A home" translates the Hebrew word manoach, which means "rest" or "a resting place." This is the same kind of security Naomi had wished for the women in Ruth 1:9. Now she sets out to secure this for Ruth.
- Ruth 3:3a The instructions deliberately bring to mind a bride preparing herself. The scene that follows is told with intentional discretion; the Hebrew text leaves much unstated, and that reticence is preserved here rather than being explained or clarified.
- Ruth 3:4a "Uncover his feet" translates the Hebrew word margeloth, which refers to the area at or around the feet. The phrase is discreet and its exact sense is debated, with some interpreting it as a euphemism; the deliberate ambiguity of the Hebrew text is preserved here and not resolved.
- Ruth 3:7a This verse is told with deliberate restraint; 'in good spirits' translates the Hebrew phrase 'his heart was merry,' and 'uncovered his feet' repeats the discreet phrase of verse 4. The Hebrew text leaves what happens unstated, and that reticence is preserved here and not resolved.
- Ruth 3:9a 'Spread the corner of your garment over me' uses the Hebrew word kanaph, the same word for 'wings' in Boaz's blessing (2:12); spreading a garment's edge over a woman was a gesture of marriage and protection (compare Ezekiel 16:8). Ruth boldly asks Boaz to become the answer to his own prayer. 'Guardian-redeemer' again translates the Hebrew word go'el (compare 2:20).
- Ruth 3:10a 'This kindness' again translates the Hebrew word chesed (compare 1:8; 2:20); Boaz understands Ruth's choice of an older kinsman over young men as covenant loyalty to Naomi's dead, not self-interest. The theme of chesed runs through the entire book.
- Ruth 3:11a 'A woman of noble character' translates the Hebrew phrase eshet chayil, which is the feminine form of the phrase used to describe Boaz in 2:1 ('a man of standing'); it is the same praise that opens Proverbs 31:10. In the traditional Hebrew arrangement of Scripture, the book of Ruth follows Proverbs, so this verse stands as a living example of the Proverbs 31 woman.
- Ruth 3:12a The Hebrew text here is slightly awkward (a doubled 'truly ... that'), reflecting a notable scribal observation; the sense is clear, and the textual difficulty is not resolved here. The existence of a nearer redeemer is the obstacle that chapter 4 resolves.
- Ruth 3:14a Boaz's concern to protect Ruth's and his own reputation emphasizes that nothing dishonorable has occurred. The discretion of the narrator (and Boaz) is reported as the text presents it and is not clarified in either direction.
- Ruth 3:15a 'He went back to town' follows many Hebrew manuscripts and ancient translations; some read 'she went into the town.' The reading is uncertain and is not resolved here.
- Ruth 3:16a 'How did it go, my daughter?' translates the Hebrew phrase 'Who are you, my daughter?'—the same question Boaz asked in the dark (3:9), here meaning something like 'How do things stand with you—are you still a widow, or now betrothed?' The echo of Boaz's question is kept, and the idiom is translated for its intended meaning.
- Ruth 3:17a 'Empty-handed' intentionally answers Naomi's complaint in 1:21 ('the LORD has brought me back empty'). Boaz's gift quietly begins to reverse the emptiness.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Ruth, is free to read here on the web.
Continue: Ruth 4 → · All of Ruth · About the TBV · Read Ruth 3 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus