Ruth 3 King James Version (KJV)
3 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
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.
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.
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.
9 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.
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.
11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.
14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
Commentary
Naomi’s plan (3:1-18)
By the time reaping was over, the widows had put aside enough grain to last them till the next summer. But Naomi was concerned for Ruth’s future, and suggested that she marry (3:1).
One difficulty was that Naomi had no sons still living; that is, there were no brothers of Ruth’s late husband whom Ruth could marry. Naomi therefore suggested Boaz, as he was apparently the closest living relative. In addition, he had shown some interest in Ruth. Naomi thought out a plan whereby Ruth could discuss the matter quietly with Boaz without the local people knowing. Accordingly, one night Ruth crept to the threshing floor where Boaz was sleeping, guarding his grain. She quietly lifted the blanket from his feet, so that as his feet grew cold he would slowly wake up. Then, while all others were asleep, she put the request to him. By asking him to ‘spread his skirt over her’, she was figuratively asking him to take her as his wife (2-9).
Boaz was delighted and honoured. He knew that Ruth could easily have married one of the local men much nearer her age than he. But she chose rather to be faithful to her family obligations. He therefore showed similar faithfulness by being open and honest with her. He told her there was a closer relative than he, and this man had the right to marry her. Only if this relative was not willing would Boaz take her as his wife (10-13).
Ruth remained at the threshing floor for several hours. Boaz then gave her some more grain and sent her home while it was still dark, as he did not want anyone to see her and begin to gossip (14-15). Naomi was encouraged that things were working out as she had hoped (16-18).