Passage

Ruth 1.9

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

7. And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 8. And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

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.

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? (Ruth 1:7-11, ASV)

WEB

7. She went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her. They went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8. Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead, and with me.

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.

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? (Ruth 1:7-11, WEB)

KJV

7. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 8. And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

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.

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? (Ruth 1:7-11, KJV)

YLT

7. And she goeth out from the place where she hath been, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they go in the way to turn back unto the land of Judah. 8. And Naomi saith to her two daughters-in-law, 'Go, turn back, each to the house of her mother; Jehovah doth with you kindness as ye have done with the dead, and with me;

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.

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? (Ruth 1:7-11, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Naomi, with the narrator reporting the farewell
Audience: her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth
Location: on the way from the country of Moab toward the land of Judah (Ruth 1:7)
Time period: "in the days when the judges judged" (Ruth 1:1), after the deaths of Elimelech and his two sons (1:3-5)

Theological reading

"Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband." Naomi has set out for home, and her daughters-in-law have come with her (1:7). Now she urges them back: "Go, return each of you to her mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me" (1:8). Verse 9 completes the blessing.

"Rest." For a widow without sons, rest meant security: a husband, a house and a settled place. The KJV tags the word as Strong's H4496. Naomi cannot provide it, and she says so in the next verses: "have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?" (1:11). So she asks Jehovah to give what she cannot.

The prayer comes back. In chapter 3 Naomi says to Ruth, "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?" (3:1, where the KJV tags "rest" as H4494). The woman who could only pray for rest on the road becomes the one who seeks it for Ruth, and it comes "in the house of her husband" when "Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife" (4:13).

Kisses and tears. "Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept." It is a farewell. The daughters-in-law refuse at first, "Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people" (1:10), and the scene repeats in 1:14, where the two part ways: "Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto 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.

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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.