Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Ruth 4:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse records the women's blessing that the LORD has not left Naomi without a redeemer and prays for his fame.
Read It With
- Ruth 4:13–17
Read Ruth 4:13–17 together. This verse records the women's blessing that the LORD has not left Naomi without a redeemer and prays for his fame. Read Ruth 4:13–17 as one complete scene: Boaz marries Ruth, the LORD grants conception, and a son is born; Bethlehem's women bless the LORD, praise Ruth's love, place the child in Naomi's renewed household, and name him Obed, grandfather of David.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The scene gathers the book's household strands—Ruth, Boaz, Naomi, Bethlehem's women, the dead, and David's future—into communal blessing before the genealogy widens the horizon. Within that movement, this verse records the women's blessing that the LORD has not left Naomi without a redeemer and prays for his fame.
Read Ruth 4:13–17 together
Why these verses belong together: Marriage, conception, birth, women's blessing, Naomi's caregiving, and Obed's naming interpret household restoration together.
Verse 13. 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.
Verse 14. 14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
Verse 15. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
Verse 16. 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
Verse 17. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Follow the Context
- Boaz takes Ruth as wife, the LORD gives conception, and she bears a son.
- The women bless the LORD for not leaving Naomi without a redeemer and pray for his fame.
- They call the child a restorer of life and sustainer in old age because Ruth, better to Naomi than seven sons, bore him.
- Naomi takes the child, lays him in her bosom, and becomes his caregiver.
- The women name him Obed and identify him as Jesse's father and David's grandfather.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Ruth 4:14 does not say that the newborn erases Naomi's earlier grief or belongs to the community more than to his parents.
What Remains True
The women's blessing interprets the newborn within Naomi's restored household and directs praise to the LORD.
How It Can Shape Life
- Let communities celebrate renewed kinship while avoiding claims that one child repairs every grief or belongs to the community more than the parents.
Teach It Back
Explain Ruth 4:14's precise role in Ruth 4:13–17. Include the scene's movement, the surrounding verses, any material uncertainty, and one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ruth 4:13–17 — Birth, Blessing, and Naomi's Renewed HouseholdSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The women's 'redeemer' may point to the child in Naomi's restored family future; interpreters also discuss Boaz.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Ruth 4:13–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ruth
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew forms, morphology, repeated roots, clause relationships, names, and base wording behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ruth.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 4:13–17
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Ruth with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Material lexical, grammatical, textual, social, legal, genealogical, and translation notes within the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Ruth PDF, printed pp. 501–503, translation and translator notes on 4:13–17
Open source ↗