New English Translation
Ruth 3:2
2Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor.
Ruth 3:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
- New International Version (NIV)Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
Context of Ruth 3:2
1At that time, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil, and get dressed up. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal. 4When he gets ready to go to sleep, take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, and lie down beside him. He will tell you what you should do.”
Read all of Ruth 3Ruth 3:2 word by word
וְעַתָּ֗ה הֲלֹ֥א בֹ֙עַז֙ מֹֽדַעְתָּ֔נוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיִ֖ית אֶת־נַעֲרוֹתָ֑יו הִנֵּה־ה֗וּא זֹרֶ֛ה אֶת־גֹּ֥רֶן הַשְּׂעֹרִ֖ים הַלָּֽיְלָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- not Boazבֹּ֫עַזbô‛az · BoazH1162
- of our kindredמֹדַ֫עַתmôda‛ath · kinsmanH4130
- with whose maidensנַעֲרָהna‛ărâh · maidenH5291
- thou wast? Behold, he winnowethזָרָהzârâh · to scatterH2219
- barleyשְׂעֹרָהώe‛ôrâh ώe‛ôrâh ώe‛ôr ώe‛ôr · barleyH8184
- to nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- in the threshingfloorגֹּ֫רֶןgôren · threshing floorH1637
Cross-references for Ruth 3:2
- Ruth 2:20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.”
- Deuteronomy 25:5If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law.
- Hebrews 2:11For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
- Ruth 2:8So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my dear! Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside my female workers.
Commentaries on Ruth 3:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2He winnoweth barley tonight - It is very likely that the winnowing of grain was effected by taking up, in a broad thin vessel or sieve, a portion of the corn, and letting it down slowly in the wind; thus the grain would, by its own weight, fall in one place, while the chaff, etc., would be carried to a distance by the wind. It is said here that this was done at night; probably what was threshed out in the day was winnowed in the evening, when the sea…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Behold, he winnoweth barley - The simple manners of Boaz and his times are here before us. This “mighty man of wealth” assists personally in the winnowing of his barley, which lies in a great heap on the floor Rth 3:15 , and sleeps in the open threshing-floor to protect his grain from depredation. Tonight - For the sake of the breeze which springs up at sunset, and greatly facilitates the “cleansing” (separation) of the grain tossed up across the wind.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2As a close relative, Boaz might serve as a redeemer for Ruth and Naomi (see study notes on Ruth 2:20; 3:9). The threshing floor was a flat surface made of stone or hardened earth. The farmer spread sheaves of grain over it and beat them to separate the grain from the straw. Then the farmer would winnow by tossing the mixed straw and grain into the air with a wooden fork or shovel. The breeze carried the lighter straw and chaff away, while the heavier…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-132. he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor--The winnowing process is performed by throwing up the grain, after being trodden down, against the wind with a shovel. The threshing-floor, which was commonly on the harvest-field, was carefully leveled with a large cylindric roller and consolidated with chalk, that weeds might not spring up, and that it might not chop with drought. The farmer usually remained all night in harvest-time on the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ruth 3:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ruth 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries