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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Ruth 3:1

One day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, "My dear daughter, isn't it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life? And isn't Boaz our close relative, the one with whose young women you've been working? Maybe it's time to make our move. Tonight is the night of Boaz's barley harvest at the threshing floor.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Inheritance;   Ruth;   Women;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Marriage;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ruth;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Na'omi;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for June 23;   Every Day Light - Devotion for July 20;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find rest for you, so that you will be taken care of?
Hebrew Names Version
Na`omi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
King James Version
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?
Lexham English Bible
Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek for you security that things may be good for you?
English Standard Version
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
New Century Version
Then Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, said to her, "My daughter, I must find a suitable home for you, one that will be good for you.
New English Translation
At that time, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, "My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure.
Amplified Bible
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, "My daughter, shall I not look for security and a home for you, so that it may be well with you?
New American Standard Bible
Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may go well for you?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Afterward Naomi her mother in lawe said vnto her, My daughter, shall not I seeke rest for thee, that thou mayest prosper?
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek a state of rest for you, that it may be well with you?
Contemporary English Version
One day, Naomi said to Ruth: It's time I found you a husband, who will give you a home and take care of you.
Complete Jewish Bible
Na‘omi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, I should be seeking security for you; so that things will go well with you.
Darby Translation
And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, said to her, "My daughter, maybe I should find a husband and a good home for you. That would be good for you.
George Lamsa Translation
THEN Naomi said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
Good News Translation
Some time later Naomi said to Ruth, "I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own.
Literal Translation
And her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, My daughter, do I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Naemi hir mother in lawe sayde vnto her: My doughter, I wyll prouyde rest for the, that thou maiest prospere.
American Standard Version
And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Bible in Basic English
And Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, am I not to get you a resting-place where you may be in comfort?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then Naomi her mother in lawe sayde vnto her: My daughter, shal I not seke rest for thee, yt thou mayest prosper?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her: 'My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
King James Version (1611)
Then Naomi her mother in law said vnto her, My daughter, shal I not seeke rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And she lodged with her mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
English Revised Version
And Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Berean Standard Bible
One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek a place for you, that it may be well with you?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe aftir that Ruth turnede ayen to hir modir in lawe, Ruth herde of hir, My douytir, Y schal seke reste to thee, and Y schal purueye that it be wel to thee.
Young's Literal Translation
And Naomi her mother-in-law saith to her, `My daughter, do not I seek for thee rest, that it may be well with thee?
Update Bible Version
And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
Webster's Bible Translation
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
World English Bible
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
New King James Version
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?
New Living Translation
One day Naomi said to Ruth, "My daughter, it's time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for.
New Life Bible
Then Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, should I not look for a home for you, so all will be well with you?
New Revised Standard
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, - My daughter! shall I not seek for thee a place of rest, in which it may be well with thee?
Douay-Rheims Bible
After she was returned to her mother in law, Noemi said to her: My daughter, I will seek rest for thee, and will provide that it may be well with thee.
Revised Standard Version
Then Na'omi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek a home for you, that it may be well with you?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?

Contextual Overview

1One day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, "My dear daughter, isn't it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life? And isn't Boaz our close relative, the one with whose young women you've been working? Maybe it's time to make our move. Tonight is the night of Boaz's barley harvest at the threshing floor. 3"Take a bath. Put on some perfume. Get all dressed up and go to the threshing floor. But don't let him know you're there until the party is well under way and he's had plenty of food and drink. When you see him slipping off to sleep, watch where he lies down and then go there. Lie at his feet to let him know that you are available to him for marriage. Then wait and see what he says. He'll tell you what to do." 5 Ruth said, "If you say so, I'll do it, just as you've told me."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall I not: Ruth 1:9, 1 Corinthians 7:36, 1 Timothy 5:8, 1 Timothy 5:14

may be: Genesis 40:14, Deuteronomy 4:40, Psalms 128:2, Jeremiah 22:15, Jeremiah 22:16

Reciprocal: Genesis 2:18 - good Deuteronomy 5:29 - that it might Ephesians 6:3 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
Isaiah 27:1
At that time God will unsheathe his sword, his merciless, massive, mighty sword. He'll punish the serpent Leviathan as it flees, the serpent Leviathan thrashing in flight. He'll kill that old dragon that lives in the sea.
Matthew 10:16
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.
2 Corinthians 11:14
Pseudo-Servants of God Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.) I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life.
1 Peter 3:7
The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her,.... After the harvests were over, and so gleaning likewise; when Naomi and Ruth were together alone in their apartment, the mother addressed the daughter after this manner:

my daughter, shall I not seek for thee, that it may be well with thee? that is, in the house of an husband, as in Ruth 1:9 her meaning is, to seek out for an husband for her, that she might have an house of her own to rest in, and an husband to provide her; that so she might be free from such toil and labour she had been lately exercised in, and enjoy much ease and comfort, and all outward happiness and prosperity in a marriage state with a good husband. This interrogation carries in it the force of a strong affirmation, may suggest that she judged it to be her duty, and that she was determined to seek out such a rest for her; and the Targum makes her way of speaking stronger still, for that is,

"by an oath I will not rest, until the time that I have sought a rest for thee.''

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER III

Naomi's advice to Ruth, how to procure herself a marriage with

Boaz, 1-5.

She acts according to her mother-in-law's direction, and is

kindly received by Boaz, who promises to marry her, should

her nearer kinsman refuse, 6-13.

He gives her six measures of barley, and sends her away

privately to her mother-in-law, who augurs favourably of

the issue of the plan she had laid, 14-18.

NOTES ON CHAP. III

Verse Ruth 3:1. Shall I not seek rest for thee — That is, Shall I not endeavour to procure thee a proper husband? See Ruth 1:9, and the observations at the end of that chapter.


 
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