Passage

Ruth 1.11-13

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

9. Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10. And they said unto her, Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people.

11. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12. Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even have a husband to-night, and should also bear sons; 13. would ye therefore tarry till they were grown? would ye therefore stay from having husbands? nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is gone forth against me.

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her. 15. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god: return thou after thy sister-in-law. (Ruth 1:9-15, ASV)

WEB

9. May Yahweh grant you that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices, and wept. 10. They said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.”

11. Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12. Go back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, ‘I have hope,’ if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons; 13. would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me seriously for your sakes, for Yahweh’s hand has gone out against me.”

They lifted up their voices, and wept again; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth joined with her. 15. She said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.” (Ruth 1:9-15, WEB)

KJV

9. The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

11. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12. Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; ^{should have: or were with an husband} 13. Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. ^{tarry: Heb. hope} ^{it grieveth: Heb. I have much bitterness}

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. 15. And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. (Ruth 1:9-15, KJV)

YLT

9. Jehovah doth grant to you, and find ye rest each in the house of her husband;' and she kisseth them, and they lift up their voice and weep. 10. And they say to her, 'Surely with thee we go back to thy people.'

11. And Naomi saith, 'Turn back, my daughters; why do ye go with me? are there yet to me sons in my bowels that they have been to you for husbands? 12. Turn back, my daughters, go, for I am too aged to be to a husband; though I had said, There is for me hope, also, I have been to-night to a husband, and also I have borne sons: 13. for them do ye wait till that they grow up? for them do ye shut yourselves up, not to be to a husband? nay, my daughters, for more bitter to me than to you, for the hand of Jehovah hath gone out against me.'

And they lift up their voice, and weep again, and Orpah kisseth her mother-in-law, and Ruth hath cleaved to her. 15. And she saith, 'Lo, thy sister-in-law hath turned back unto her people, and unto her god, turn thou back after thy sister-in-law.' (Ruth 1:9-15, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Naomi, speaking to her daughters-in-law (Ruth 1:11)
Audience: Orpah and Ruth
Location: on the road from Moab toward Judah (Ruth 1:7)
Time period: the period of the judges (Ruth 1:1), after the deaths in Moab (1:5)

Theological reading

Naomi argues her daughters-in-law out of following her: "have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?" (1:11). The question assumes the custom later spelled out in Deuteronomy 25:5, that a dead man's brother should marry his widow "that his name be not blotted out of Israel" (25:6). Naomi has no sons left to offer.

Her reasoning is generous and bleak. Even if she married "to-night" and bore sons, would they "tarry till they were grown?" (1:12-13). The KJV margin gives "tarry" as literally "hope," so the verse asks whether they would hope for that long.

The theological weight falls at the end: "it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is gone forth against me" (1:13). The KJV margin reads "I have much bitterness," anticipating her new name, "Mara" (1:20). Naomi does not deny God's sovereignty; she attributes her losses to it. The rest of the book shows that same hand at work for her.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H7725 - shuv, shuv, Strong's H7725
H1121 - ben, ben, Strong's H1121
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH, Strong's H3068

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.