Ruth 3:10
in Ruth 3Then Boaz said, “May the LORD bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter: thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Ruth 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe praised Ruth's deed and, moreover, he did not betray temperance, but he kept to the law of nuptial congress. "You show by your deed," he said, "that this was not done out of voluptuousness. In fact, you might have gone to those who are …
This site's exposition
May the LORD bless you, my daughter
on Ruth 3:10-11
The word behind "kindness" is chesed, which Naomi prays over the two Moabite women at 1:8 and Boaz now names of Ruth. He reads her approach as loyalty to the dead, since she passed over the younger men for the kinsman. At verse 11, "a woman of noble character" renders eshet chayil, as at Proverbs 12:4 and 31:10, and the same word chayil describes Boaz at 2:1.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
She received not the addresses of young men (much less did she seek them) whether poor or rich, but was willing to marry as the divine law directed, though it was to an old man, because it was for the honour and interest of the family into which she had matched, and for which she had an entire kindness.
And he said, blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In the latter end than at the beginning - It is not easy to find out what Boaz means.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou hast shewed more kindness ... - Literally, “Thou hast made thy last kindness better than the first.” Her last kindness was her willingness to accept Boaz for her husband, advanced in years as he was.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[Your] earlier [kindness]. That you did for your mother-in-law. 12 When you abandoned your home and fortune to stay with your mother-in-law. Your last act of kindness, i.e., your willingness to marry an older man to perpetuate your late husband’s name is a greater sacrifice on your part.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
"אשת חיל (a virtuous woman):" I will explain this in Proverbs.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בְּרוּכָ֨ה | berukhah | [be] blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אַ֤תְּ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לַֽיהוָה֙ | layahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בִּתִּ֔י | biti | O daughter my | H1323 → | 588 times |
| הֵיטַ֛בְתְּ | heitavt | you have made good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| חַסְדֵּ֥ךְ | chasdekh | loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| הָאַחֲר֖וֹן | haacharon | <the> latter | H314 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן | harishon | <the> former | H7223 → | |
| לְבִלְתִּי־ | levilti- | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| לֶ֗כֶת | lekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵי֙ | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַבַּ֣חוּרִ֔ים | habachurim | the young men | H970 → | |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | whether | H518 → | 1069 times |
| דַּ֖ל | dal | poor | H1800 → | |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and or | H518 → | 1069 times |
| עָשִֽׁיר׃ | ʾashir | rich | H6223 → |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
בְּרוּכָ֨ה[be] blessed
berukhahH1288 →330 times
אַ֤תְּyou
ʾatH859 →1094 times
לַֽיהוָה֙by Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
בִּתִּ֔יO daughter my
bitiH1323 →588 times
הֵיטַ֛בְתְּyou have made good
heitavtH3190 →117 times
חַסְדֵּ֥ךְloyalty your
chasdekhH2617 →247 times
הָאַחֲר֖וֹן<the> latter
haacharonH314 →
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן<the> former
harishonH7223 →
לְבִלְתִּי־to not
levilti-H1115 →112 times
לֶ֗כֶתto go
lekhetH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵי֙after
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הַבַּ֣חוּרִ֔יםthe young men
habachurimH970 →
אִם־whether
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
דַּ֖לpoor
dalH1800 →
וְאִם־and or
veim-H518 →1069 times
עָשִֽׁיר׃rich
ʾashirH6223 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ruth 2:4Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
it leads to
- Psalms 129:7–8
unable to fill the hands of the reaper, or the arms of the binder of sheaves.
- Luke 1:28
The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
- Judges 6:12
And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
- 2 Timothy 4:22
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
- Psalms 129:7–8
Through
Ruth 1:8Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
it leads to
- Ruth 2:20
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He…
- Ruth 1:5
both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.
- Colossians 3:18
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- Ruth 2:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ruth
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, QUESTIONS ON RUTH.