Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
- NASB But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
- NLT But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to return to their mothers' homes, praying the LORD will show them kindness. Her selflessness invokes God's covenant love over them.
Overview
Naomi's word for kindness (hesed) is the steadfast, covenant love that the book repeatedly celebrates. Though impoverished, she seeks the young women's good over her own need, releasing them to seek new husbands and security. Her prayer that Yahweh would deal kindly with them shows that even in bitterness she still trusts the LORD's character, anticipating the kindness Ruth herself will receive.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ruth 1:5both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.
- Ruth 2:20Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
- Col 3:18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- Col 3:24because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
- Eph 6:2–3“Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise),
- Eph 5:22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
- Josh 24:15–28But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
- 2 Tim 1:16–18May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.
- Phil 4:18–19I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
- Luke 14:25–33Large crowds were now traveling with Jesus, and He turned and said to them,
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Christ at the center
Boaz the kinsman-redeemer who buys back the destitute and takes a bride foreshadows Christ, our Redeemer who pays the price to make a people his own; and from Ruth's line comes David, and David's greater Son.
How Ruth 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.