# Ruth 1.14 **Book:** [Ruth](/codex/ruth/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/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. 16. 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; (Ruth 1:12-16, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/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.” 16. 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. (Ruth 1:12-16, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/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. 16. 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 (Ruth 1:12-16, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/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.' 16. 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. (Ruth 1:12-16, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** the narrator (no direct speech in this verse) - **Audience:** Israelite readers who knew of David (Ruth 4:17) - **Location:** the road from Moab toward the land of Judah (Ruth 1:7) - **Time period:** the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1), c. 1100 BC, after the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion in Moab ## Theological reading The verse turns on one contrast: "Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her." Both women have wept, both have heard Naomi argue that she has no more sons to give them (Ruth 1:11-13), and both are free to go. Orpah's kiss is a farewell, and the narrator does not condemn it; Naomi herself has urged it. Ruth's response is a different kind of act. "Clave" is the verb used of a man who leaves father and mother and "shall cleave unto his wife" ([Genesis 2:24](/codex/genesis-2-24/)), and of Israel's bond to its God, "to him shalt thou cleave" ([Deuteronomy 10:20](/codex/deuteronomy-10-20/)). Ruth binds herself to Naomi with a loyalty that has nothing to gain by any reckoning Naomi has just laid out. The next verse shows what is at stake: Orpah "is gone back unto her people, and unto her god" (Ruth 1:15). Staying with Naomi is more than family devotion, and Ruth's own words in [Ruth 1:16](/codex/ruth-1-16/) will say what her clinging means. ## 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._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [David and Jonathan Relationship Objection Defeater](/codex/david-and-jonathan-relationship-objection-defeater/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.