RUTH 3:17 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

3:17 OSHB variant note: (x-qere) ’אֵלַ֔/י’: lemma_413 n_0.1 morph_HR/Sp1cs id_086C3 אֵלַ֔/י

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, τὰ ἕξ τῶν κριθῶν ταῦτα ἔδωκέ μοι, ὅτι εἶπε πρὸς μὲ, μὴ εἰσέλθῃς κενὴ πρὸς τὴν πενθεράν σου.
(Kai eipen autaʸ, ta hex tōn krithōn tauta edōke moi, hoti eipe pros me, maʸ eiselthaʸs kenaʸ pros taʸn pentheran sou. )

BrTr And she said to her, He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law.

ULT And she said, “He gave to me these six of barley, for he said, ‘You must not go empty to your mother-in-law.’ ”

UST She also said to Naomi, “He gave me all this barley, saying, ‘I do not want you to return to your mother-in-law with nothing.’ ”

OEB ‘He gave me these six measures of barley,’ she said, ‘for he said I should not go to my mother-in-law empty-handed.’

WEBBE She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley; for he said, ‘Don’t go empty to your mother-in-law.’ ”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”

LSV And she says, “These six [measures] of barley he has given to me, for he said, You do not go in empty to your mother-in-law.”

FBV “And he also gave me these six measures of barley,” she added. “He told me, ‘You mustn't go home to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”

T4T She also said to Naomi, “He gave me all this barley, saying ‘I do not want you to return to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”

LEB And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘You shall not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

BBE And she said, He gave me these six measures of grain, saying, Do not go back to your mother-in-law with nothing in your hands.

Moff No Moff RUTH book available

JPS And she said: 'These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me: Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.'

ASV And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.

DRA And she said: Behold he hath given me six measures of barley: for he said: I will not have thee return empty to thy mother in law.

YLT And she saith, 'These six [measures] of barley he hath given to me, for he said, Thou dost not go in empty unto thy mother-in-law.'

Drby And she said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law.

RV And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
(And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy/your mother in law. )

SLT And she will say, These six of barley he gave to me; for he said, Thou shalt not go empty to thy mother-in-law.

Wbstr And she said, These six measures of barley he gave me; for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law.

KJB-1769 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
(And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy/your mother in law. )

KJB-1611 And she said, These sixe measures of barley gaue he me, for he said to me, Go not emptie vnto thy mother in law.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And sayde: These sixe measures of barlye gaue he me, and sayde: Thou shalt not come emptie vnto thy mother in lawe.
(And said: These six measures of barley gave he me, and said: Thou/You shalt/shall not come empty unto thy/your mother in law.)

Gnva And said, These sixe measures of barly gaue he me: for he sayd to me, Thou shalt not come emptie vnto thy mother in lawe.
(And said, These six measures of barley gave he me: for he said to me, Thou/You shalt/shall not come empty unto thy/your mother in law. )

Cvdl & sayde: These sixe measures of barlye gaue he me, for he sayde: Thou shalt not come emptye vnto yi mother in lawe.
(and said: These six measures of barley gave he me, for he said: Thou/You shalt/shall not come emptye unto ye/you_all mother in law.)

Wycl And Ruth seide, Lo! he yaf to me sixe buyschels of barly; and he seide, Y nyle that thou turne ayen voide to thi modir in lawe.
(And Ruth said, Lo! he gave to me six buyschels of barley; and he said, I won’t that thou/you turn again void to thy/your mother in law.)

Luth und sprach: Diese sechs Maß Gerste gab er mir, denn er sprach: Du sollst nicht leer zu deiner Schwieger kommen.
(and spoke: This/These six measure(n)/extent barley gave he to_me, because/than he spoke: You(sg) should not empty to/for your(s) Schwieger coming.)

ClVg Et ait: Ecce sex modios hordei dedit mihi, et ait: Nolo vacuam te reverti ad socrum tuam.
(And he_said: Behold six handfuls barley he_gave to_me, and he_said: I_don't_want_to vacuam you(sg) to_return to mother-in-law your(sg). )

SOTN 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

Paragraph 3:16–18

This paragraph tells what happened when Ruth went back to Naomi. Ruth told her what had happened and about the barley. Naomi told her to wait for Boaz to act.

In this paragraph, the author does not give the names of the people involved, but uses pronouns. Some names have been included in many English versions as implied information from the context. In your translation, you may also need to name the individuals so that your readers can better understand the story.

3:17a-b

And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”: The quotation of what Boaz said gives the reason that he gave Ruth the barley. In some languages, it may be more natural to reverse the order of these clauses. For example:

She added, “He told me I must not come back to you empty-handed, so he gave me all this barley.” (GNT)

3:17a

And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley,

She also said, “These six measures of barley, he gave all this to me.
And she said, “Look at these thirty (30) kilograms of barley that Boaz gave me!”

And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley…”: The Hebrew text emphasizes the phrase that the BSB translates as these six measures of barley. That emphasis implies that it was a very large gift. The size of the gift showed that Boaz was concerned for Naomi and Ruth’s welfare.

If you can communicate this emphasis in your language, then you should do so. One way to show the emphasis is to add a word like “all.” For example:

She also said, “He gave me all these six measures of barley.”

She said to Naomi, ‘He also gave me all this barley. (EASY)

3:17b

for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

He said to me, ‘Do^(sing) not return to your mother-in-law with empty hands.’ ”
And when he gave this to me, he said that I should not go back to you unless I took something for you.”

for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed’: The Hebrew clause that the BSB translates as Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed is a quotation inside another quotation. Ruth was telling Naomi exactly what Boaz said. In many languages, it will be necessary to translate this as indirect speech. For example:

Boaz said that I should not return to you without bringing a gift.

empty-handed: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as empty-handed is the same word that the BSB translates as “empty” in 1:21a. There, Naomi said that the LORD had brought her back to Israel empty. She meant that her husband and sons had died and she was poor. If you can translate the word the same in both verses, it would be good. However, in some languages it may necessary to say here that Boaz wanted Ruth to return with something, or with hands full of grain. For example:

Do not return to Naomi with nothing to give to her. (EASY)

He said that I must not go home without bringing a gift for you. (ERV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

שֵׁשׁ־הַ⁠שְּׂעֹרִ֥ים

six the,barley(s)

See how you translated this in [3:15](../03/15/f5zg). Alternate translation: [six measures of barley]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

כִּ֚י אָמַ֣ר אַל־תָּב֥וֹאִי רֵיקָ֖ם אֶל־חֲמוֹתֵֽ⁠ךְ

that/for/because/then/when he/it_had_said not go_back empty-handed to/towards mother-in-law_of,your

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [saying to me that I should not go empty to my mother-in-law]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

אַל־תָּב֥וֹאִי רֵיקָ֖ם

not go_back empty-handed

To go empty is an idiom that means to go to someone with nothing to offer that person. Alternate translation: [You must not go empty-handed] or [Do not go with nothing] or [You must take something]

Parallel RUTH 3:17

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

Paragraph 3:16–18

3:17a-b

3:17a

3:17b

The Setting of Ruth