Passage

Ruth 1.14-15

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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.

14. 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.

And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; 17. where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. (Ruth 1:12-17, ASV)

WEB

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.”

14. 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 said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. 17. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” (Ruth 1:12-17, WEB)

KJV

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}

14. 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.

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: ^{Intreat: or, Be not against me} 17. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. (Ruth 1:12-17, KJV)

YLT

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.'

14. 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.'

And Ruth saith, 'Urge me not to leave thee, to turn back from after thee; for whither thou goest I go, and where thou lodgest I lodge; thy people [is] my people, and thy God my God. 17. Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add, for death itself doth part between me and thee.' (Ruth 1:12-17, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the narrator (verse 14), then Naomi speaking to Ruth (verse 15)
Audience: Ruth, after Orpah has turned back
Location: on the road from Moab toward the land of Judah (Ruth 1:7)
Time period: the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), after about ten years in Moab (1:4)

Theological reading

"And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her." The two daughters-in-law part at this sentence. Orpah's kiss is a farewell, and the narrator does not blame her: she does what Naomi has urged three times. Ruth's act is the exception the story turns on.

"Clave" is Strong's H1692 in the KJV, the verb of Genesis 2:24, "shall cleave unto his wife," and of Israel's loyalty to God, "to him shalt thou cleave" (Deuteronomy 10:20). It describes a bond chosen and held, and it recurs in this book when Boaz tells Ruth to "abide here fast by my maidens" (2:8) and when she "kept fast by the maidens of Boaz" (2:23).

Naomi's reply ties people and religion together: "thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god." Moab's god was Chemosh ("O people of Chemosh," Numbers 21:29). The ASV reads "her god"; the KJV reads "her gods," because the Hebrew word (elohim, H430) is plural in form and can mean either. Ruth answers both halves of Naomi's sentence in the next verse: "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:16).

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
H0430 - elohim, elohim, Strong's H0430

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

David and Jonathan Relationship Objection Defeater, via Ruth 1.14

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.