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Ruth C1 C2 C3 C4

Ruth 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18

OET interlinear RUTH 3:8

◄ ← RUTH 3:8 ↓ → ► ║ ©

Hebrew word order

    1. Hebrew word
    2. Hebrew lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. וַ,יְהִי
    2. 180503,180504
    3. And he/it was
    4. But and
    5. 1961
    6. SV-C,Vqw3ms
    7. and=he/it_was
    8. S
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124738
    1. בַּ,חֲצִי
    2. 180505,180506
    3. in the middle of
    4. in middle at
    5. 2677
    6. S-R,Ncmsc
    7. in,the_middle_of
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124739
    1. הַ,לַּיְלָה
    2. 180507,180508
    3. the night
    4. night
    5. 3915
    6. S-Td,Ncmsa
    7. the=night
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124740
    1. וַ,יֶּחֱרַד
    2. 180509,180510
    3. and he trembled
    4. startled
    5. 2729
    6. SV-C,Vqw3ms
    7. and,he_trembled
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124741
    1. הָ,אִישׁ
    2. 180511,180512
    3. the man
    4. -
    5. 376
    6. S-Td,Ncmsa
    7. the=man
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124742
    1. וַ,יִּלָּפֵת
    2. 180513,180514
    3. and he twisted
    4. turned
    5. 3943
    6. SV-C,VNw3ms
    7. and,he_twisted
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124743
    1. וְ,הִנֵּה
    2. 180515,180516
    3. and see/lo/see
    4. -
    5. 2009
    6. S-C,Tm
    7. and=see/lo/see!
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124744
    1. אִשָּׁה
    2. 180517
    3. a woman
    4. woman
    5. 802
    6. S-Ncfsa
    7. a_woman
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124745
    1. שֹׁכֶבֶת
    2. 180518
    3. +was lying down
    4. lying
    5. 7901
    6. V-Vqrfsa
    7. [was]_lying_down
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124746
    1. מַרְגְּלֹתָי,ו
    2. 180519,180520
    3. feet of his
    4. feet
    5. 4772
    6. S-Ncfpc,Sp3ms
    7. feet_of,his
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124747
    2. 180521
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-sof-pasuq
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 124748

OET (OET-LV) And_he/it_was in_the_middle_of the_night and_he_trembled the_man and_he_twisted and_see/lo/see a_woman was_lying_down feet_of_his.

OET (OET-RV) But Boaz was startled in the middle of the night, and when he turned over he was stunned to find a woman lying at his feet.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–18: Ruth asked Boaz to help her and Naomi

Life for widows in ancient Israel was difficult, especially for those who had no grown sons, because women depended on men to protect and provide for them. This fourth section tells how Naomi wanted to find a new husband for Ruth so that she could have a better living situation. So, she instructed Ruth to go and meet Boaz secretly at night. Ruth followed Naomi’s plan and asked him to take her into his care as his wife. She told him that this was his duty as a relative of her dead husband.

Boaz was happy to do this, but there was a problem. There was another relative who was more closely related to Naomi and Ruth than he was. If that man did not want to marry Ruth, Boaz promised that he would marry her. When Ruth returned home and told Naomi what had happened, Naomi assured her that Boaz would work hard to take care of the situation that very day.

Here are some other examples of a heading for this section:

Naomi’s Plan for Ruth’s Marriage (GW)

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor (NIV)

Ruth asked Boaz to marry her

3:8a

At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over,

In Hebrew, this sentence begins with a word that means “And it happened” or “And it was.” The conversation between Ruth and Boaz that begins in the next verse (3:9–15) is the main event or climax of this part of the book of Ruth. This word introduces the dramatic event that leads up to this climax.For an explanation of the use of this Hebrew word (wayəhî) to introduce an event that leads to the climax of a story, see Van der Merwe (page 332, section 44.5.1.i.b).

Here are some ways to begin this sentence:

Suddenly (LB)

Just then

Now it happened…that (NKJV)

The BSB and most English versions do not translate this word here. But you should consider how your language naturally leads up to the main event or climax of a story.

At midnight: This phrase refers to an approximate time around midnight. The Hebrew language and culture did not divide the night hours into exact units.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Around midnight (NLT)

In the middle of the night (NIV)

During the night (GNT)

Boaz was startled: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as Boaz was startled is literally “the man trembled.” The verb that means “tremble” usually refers to shaking from fear. The text does not say what made Boaz “tremble,” but the most likely reason was the cold air on his feet. And this is exactly what Naomi had planned.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he woke up suddenly (GNT)

the man was shivering (GW)

the man was startled (ESV)

Boaz suddenly woke up (NLT96)

If the options in your language for translating “trembled” force you to be specific about why Boaz trembled, it should be from the cold rather than from fear.

Boaz: As in 3:3c, you may translate this phrase literally as “the man,” use the pronoun “he,” or refer to Boaz by name.

turned over: The word which the BSB translates as turned over is rare in the OT, so scholars are not sure what it means. There are four ways to interpret this word:

  1. It means he turned or rolled over. For example:

    and turned over (ESV)

    and he rolled over (NCV) (BSB, ESV, GNT, GW, KJV, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, NRSV, REB)

  2. It means he groped around (for his covers). For example:

    groped about (NABRE)

    reached out (NABRE)Interpretation (2) is also supported by LEB and Block (page 179).

  3. It means he looked all around. For example:

    looked about him (NJB) (NJB)

  4. It means he sat up or bent forward. For example:

    bent forward (NASB) (NASB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.

3:8b

and there lying at his feet was a woman!

and there lying at his feet was a woman!: The author of Ruth used dramatic language in this clause to help the reader to experience how surprising it was for Boaz to find a woman lying at his feet. In Hebrew, this clause begins with a phrase that means “and behold.” The BSB does not use words to translate this phrase, but the exclamation mark (!) at the end of the sentence helps to match this dramatic and lively Hebrew expression.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

and Look! A woman lying at his feet!AYB7 (page 147).

and was shocked to see a woman lying at his feet (CEV)

He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! (NLT)

he discovered there was a woman lying at his feet (VOICE)

he saw a woman who was lying there at his feet (EASY)

Translate this clause in a way that will help your readers to understand how very surprised Boaz must have felt by what he found.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-background

וַ⁠יְהִי֙ בַּ⁠חֲצִ֣י הַ⁠לַּ֔יְלָה

and=he/it_was in,the_middle_of the=night

This clause gives information about when the next event in the story happened. Use a natural way in your language to give background information. Alternate translation: [Hours later, in the middle of the night,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

וַ⁠יֶּחֱרַ֥ד הָ⁠אִ֖ישׁ

and,he_trembled the=man

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. It is not clear what startled Boaz. Perhaps he suddenly felt the cold air on his feet or legs. Alternate translation: [the man startled]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations

וְ⁠הִנֵּ֣ה

and=see/lo/see!

Here the word behold shows that what follows was very surprising to Boaz. Use your language’s way of expressing surprise. Alternate translation: [And much to his surprise]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Hebrew word
    5. Hebrew lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. And he/it was
    2. But and
    3. 1987,1929
    5. 180503,180504
    6. SV-C,Vqw3ms
    8. S
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124738
    1. in the middle of
    2. in middle at
    3. 846,2251
    5. 180505,180506
    6. S-R,Ncmsc
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124739
    1. the night
    2. night
    3. 1893,3780
    5. 180507,180508
    6. S-Td,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124740
    1. and he trembled
    2. startled
    3. 1987,2638
    5. 180509,180510
    6. SV-C,Vqw3ms
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124741
    1. the man
    2. -
    3. 1893,266
    5. 180511,180512
    6. S-Td,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124742
    1. and he twisted
    2. turned
    3. 1987,3826
    5. 180513,180514
    6. SV-C,VNw3ms
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124743
    1. and see/lo/see
    2. -
    3. 1987,1861
    5. 180515,180516
    6. S-C,Tm
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124744
    1. a woman
    2. woman
    3. 290
    5. 180517
    6. S-Ncfsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124745
    1. +was lying down
    2. lying
    3. 7804
    5. 180518
    6. V-Vqrfsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124746
    1. feet of his
    2. feet
    3. 4590,1978
    5. 180519,180520
    6. S-Ncfpc,Sp3ms
    8. -
    9. Y-1307
    10. 124747

OET (OET-LV) And_he/it_was in_the_middle_of the_night and_he_trembled the_man and_he_twisted and_see/lo/see a_woman was_lying_down feet_of_his.

OET (OET-RV) But Boaz was startled in the middle of the night, and when he turned over he was stunned to find a woman lying at his feet.

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.OET logo mark

◄ ← RUTH 3:8 ↑ → ► ║ ©