Passage

Ruth 1.17

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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;

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.

And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her. 19. So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, Is this Naomi? (Ruth 1:15-19, ASV)

WEB

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.

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.”

When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. 19. So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. When they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was excited about them, and they asked, “Is this Naomi?” (Ruth 1:15-19, WEB)

KJV

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}

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.

When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. ^{was: Heb. strengthened herself} 19. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? (Ruth 1:15-19, KJV)

YLT

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.

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.'

And she seeth that she is strengthening herself to go with her, and she ceaseth to speak unto her; 19. and they go both of them till their coming in to Beth-Lehem; and it cometh to pass at their coming in to Beth-Lehem, that all the city is moved at them, and they say, 'Is this Naomi?' (Ruth 1:15-19, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Ruth, speaking to Naomi (Ruth 1:16)
Audience: Naomi
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

"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's commitment extends beyond Naomi's lifetime to the grave. To be buried in Judah is to leave Moab permanently.

The oath is sworn by "Jehovah," the God of Israel, not by Moab's god (1:15). A Moabite woman invokes YHWH (Strong's H3068) on herself, which shows that her words in the preceding verse, "thy God my God" (1:16), are already in effect.

"Death" is mavet (Strong's H4194). Only death may separate them. Her loyalty is a form of the "kindness" Naomi earlier asked God to repay (1:8), and Boaz later recognizes it: "thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity" (2:11).

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.

H4194 - mavet, mavet, Strong's H4194
H4191 - mut, mut, Strong's H4191
H6213 - asah, asah, Strong's H6213
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.