Ruth 1:12 kjv
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;
Ruth 1:12 nkjv
Turn back, my daughters, go?for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,
Ruth 1:12 niv
Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me?even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons?
Ruth 1:12 esv
Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,
Ruth 1:12 nlt
No, my daughters, return to your parents' homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what?
Ruth 1 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 38:8 | Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her…” | Levirate law (precedent) |
| Deut 25:5-6 | “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger... firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his brother who is dead..." | Levirate Law (legal basis) |
| Deut 25:9-10 | "and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’" | Consequences for refusing levirate duty |
| Isa 7:14 | "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." | Hope for a "Son" (Messianic lineage) |
| Luke 1:35 | "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." | Divine intervention for miraculous birth |
| Rom 4:18 | "who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations..." | Faith in spite of hopelessness (Abraham) |
| Prov 3:5-6 | "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." | Trusting God beyond human limitations |
| Jer 29:11 | "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." | God's ultimate plan of hope |
| Lam 3:18 | And I said, "My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD." | Feeling of lost hope (similar to Naomi) |
| Job 1:21 | "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” | Accepting loss and God's sovereignty |
| Rom 8:28 | "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." | God working through dire circumstances |
| Eph 3:20 | "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..." | God's boundless ability vs. human limits |
| Heb 11:1 | "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." | Definition of hope rooted in faith |
| 1 Pet 1:3 | "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope..." | Hope for believers beyond worldly sorrow |
| Ruth 1:16-17 | "But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you... Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." | Ruth's clinging to Naomi despite the odds |
| 1 Cor 7:27-28 | "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released... But if you marry, you have not sinned..." | Context of marriage decisions (related to "husbands") |
| John 6:68 | But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." | Choosing steadfastness (echoes Ruth's choice) |
| Gen 16:2 | "Then Sarai said to Abram, 'See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I may obtain children by her.'” | Barrenness and alternative solutions for heirs |
| 1 Sam 1:5-6 | "...but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb." | Barrenness by divine action |
| Isa 54:1 | “Sing, O barren, you who have not borne; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child..." | Spiritual fruitfulness from barrenness |
| Ruth 2:20 | "May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living and the dead.” | God's "hesed" (kindness) despite bleakness |
| Rom 8:24-25 | "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." | Hope looks beyond visible circumstances |
Ruth 1 verses
Ruth 1 12 Meaning
Ruth 1:12 expresses Naomi's profound sense of hopelessness concerning her ability to provide husbands for her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. Based on the custom of levirate marriage, Naomi had no other sons to offer as husbands to secure their lineage and provide for them. She rhetorically asks if she could bear more sons, immediately dismisses the idea as biologically impossible due to her age, and highlights the futility of her daughters-in-law waiting for potential future offspring from her womb. This declaration underscores her perception of a bleak future and the practical impossibility of remaining with her without male provision.
Ruth 1 12 Context
Ruth chapter 1 opens with famine leading Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to move from Bethlehem, Judah, to Moab. Over the course of ten years, Elimelech dies, and his sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Tragically, both Mahlon and Chilion also die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah as childless widows in a foreign land. Naomi then hears that the Lord has visited His people by giving them food in Bethlehem and decides to return home. It is during this return journey, just as they cross into Judah's territory, that Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to return to their Moabite families, asserting her inability to provide for them. Verse 12 is a core part of Naomi's argument for why they should not follow her, based on the levirate law which requires a deceased brother's kinsman to marry his widow to produce an heir. Naomi, being too old to bear more sons, sees no future for Ruth and Orpah within her family line, presenting a seemingly insurmountable human obstacle.
Ruth 1 12 Word analysis
- Go back: (שֻׁבְנָה, shuvna). An imperative, commanding them to return. The root שׁוּב (shuv) signifies "to turn back, to return." In this context, it carries the weight of severing ties with Naomi and her family lineage, emphasizing a complete reversal of their journey together.
- my daughters: (בְנֹתַי, b'notai). While literally "my daughters," here it functions as a term of endearment and affection for her daughters-in-law, reflecting a maternal bond rather than a biological one. It shows Naomi's care, even as she advises them to leave.
- why: (לָמָּה, lammah). A rhetorical interrogative, indicating a strong negative assertion. Naomi isn't asking for information; she is making an emphatic statement that their continuing with her would be utterly pointless.
- go with me: (הַתֵלַכְנָה עִמִּי, hatelekhna immi). "Go" (הָלַךְ, halakh) means to walk or journey. The phrase suggests continuing on the current path, but Naomi presents it as a senseless direction for them, given her circumstances.
- Are there still sons in my womb: (הַעוֹד־לִי בָנִים בְּמֵעָי, ha'od-li vanim b'mei'ai). This is the pivotal rhetorical question. "Sons" (בָנִים, banim) are the key to perpetuating the family name and securing provision through levirate marriage. "Womb" (בֶּטֶן, beten) highlights the biological source of children, directly implying her old age and the impossibility of childbirth, making her statement one of profound physical and ancestral barrenness in the literal sense.
- that you may have husbands: (וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לַאֲנָשִׁים, v'hayu lakhem la'anashim). The purpose clause directly links the possibility of sons to their role as "husbands" (אֲנָשִׁים, anashim). This explicitly states the expectation of levirate marriage (Deut 25:5-10) and underscores the societal importance of male heirs for widows.
- Go back, my daughters, why would you go with me?: This grouping establishes Naomi's primary counsel, framed as a loving but firm directive, yet with a rhetorical challenge that sets up her reasoning for their departure. It emphasizes her conviction that remaining with her is futile for their marital prospects.
- Are there still sons in my womb that you may have husbands?: This phrase encapsulates Naomi's despair and the seemingly unbridgeable obstacle she faces. It speaks directly to the core of their predicament, revealing her lack of immediate or future male kin through whom Ruth and Orpah could secure new marriages and thus their place and provision in Israelite society. The emphasis on "my womb" points to a biological limitation, sealing her argument from a human perspective.
Ruth 1 12 Bonus section
Naomi's assertion of having "no sons in my womb" (a statement of barrenness and old age) stands in stark contrast to numerous instances in the Bible where God supernaturally intervenes in barren situations (Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth) to fulfill His divine purpose. While Naomi sees only an empty future according to human biology and custom, God is preparing a miraculous reversal through Ruth's loyalty and an unexpected kinsman-redeemer. Her perspective represents the natural, worldly view of limitations, highlighting how divine providence often works outside or even directly against what is humanly logical or possible, demonstrating God's hesed (loyal love/kindness) beyond all human expectation. Her pain of lost hope ultimately paves the way for a demonstration of God's greater plan.
Ruth 1 12 Commentary
Ruth 1:12 serves as a pivotal moment, illustrating Naomi's deep anguish and her seemingly insurmountable human limitations. Her reasoning, rooted in the ancient custom of levirate marriage, reveals a pragmatic, almost bitter, acceptance of her fate. She has no more sons to offer as heirs, nor is she capable of bearing them. From her human vantage point, there is no hope for her daughters-in-law's future if they remain tied to her. This statement, while born of genuine care, challenges Ruth and Orpah to choose between returning to the familiar security of Moab or remaining loyal to a woman who appears to have nothing left to give, including descendants to marry them. It foregrounds the story's deeper theological tension between human hopelessness and God's sovereign plan, which ultimately provides a Kinsman-Redeemer (Boaz) from outside Naomi's direct "womb" to bring about unexpected restoration and a greater hope.