Ruth 1:12
New International Version
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—

New Living Translation
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?

English Standard Version
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,

Berean Standard Bible
Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

King James Bible
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;

New King James Version
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,

New American Standard Bible
Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons,

NASB 1995
“Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,

NASB 1977
“Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,

Legacy Standard Bible
Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,

Amplified Bible
Go back, my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, and if I actually had a husband tonight and even gave birth to sons,

Christian Standard Bible
Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

American Standard Version
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;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Return, my daughters, because I am too old to have a husband, that I would say, ‘I will have hope again”, and a man would have me and I would bear sons

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Turn now, my daughters, for I am too old to be married: for I said, Suppose I were married, and should bear sons;

Contemporary English Version
You must go back home, because I am too old to marry again. Even if I got married tonight and later had more sons,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Return again, my daughters, and go your ways: for I am now spent with age, and not fit for wedlock. Although I might conceive this night, and bear children,

English Revised Version
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 even have an husband to-night, and should also bear sons;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Go back, my daughters. Go, because I am too old to get married again. If I said that I still have hope.... And if I had a husband tonight.... And even if I gave birth to sons,

Good News Translation
Go back home, for I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought there was still hope, and so got married tonight and had sons,

International Standard Version
So go on back, my daughters! Be on your way! I'm too old to remarry. If I were to say that I'm hoping for a husband tonight and then also bore sons this very night,

JPS Tanakh 1917
Turn back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say: I have hope, should I even have an husband to-night, and also bear sons;

Literal Standard Version
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 tonight to a husband, and also I have borne sons:

Majority Standard Bible
Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

New American Bible
Go, my daughters, for I am too old to marry again. Even if I had any such hope, or if tonight I had a husband and were to bear sons,

NET Bible
Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons,

New Revised Standard Version
Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons,

New Heart English Bible
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;

Webster's Bible Translation
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 have a husband also to-night, and should also bear sons;

World English Bible
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,

Young's Literal Translation
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:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Ruth's Loyalty to Naomi
11But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands? 12Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”…

Cross References
Genesis 38:11
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

Ruth 1:11
But Naomi replied, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?

Ruth 1:13
would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me."


Treasury of Scripture

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;

too old

Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

1 Timothy 5:9
Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,

I should have.

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Bear Daughters Home Hope Hopes Husband Night Thought Tonight To-Night Turn Way
Ruth 1
1. Elimelech, driven by famine into Moab, dies there
4. Mahlon and Chilion, having married wives of Moab, die also
6. Naomi, returning homeward
8. dissuades her two daughters-in-law from going with her
14. Orpah leaves her, but Ruth with great constancy accompanies her
19. The two come to Bethlehem, where they are gladly received














Verse 12. - Turn back, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. But even if I could say, I have hope; yea, even if I had a husband this very night; yea, even if I had already given birth to sons; (ver. 13) would ye therefore wait till they grew up? would ye therefore shut yourselves up so as not to have husbands? nay, my daughters; for my lot is exceedingly bitter, more than even yours, for the hand of Yahveh has gone out against me. Most pathetic pleading, and not easily reproduced on lines of literal rendering. "Go, for I am too old to have a husband." A euphemistic rendering; but the original is euphemistic too, though under another phraseological phase. "But even if I could say, I have hope." The poverty of the Hebrew verb, in respect of provision to express "moods, ' is conspicuous: "that," i.e. "suppose that I said, I have hope." Mark the climactic representation. Firstly, Naomi makes, for argument's sake, the supposition that she might yet have sons; then, secondly, she carries her supposition much higher, namely, that she might that very night have a husband; and then, thirdly, she carries the supposition a great deal higher still, namely, that even already her sons were brought forth: "Would you therefore wait?" Note the therefore. Ibn Ezra, the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and King James's version assume that לָהֵן means for them. The feminine pronoun, however, as applied to Naomi's sons, is, on that supposition, all but inexplicable. It is much better to assume, with the majority of modern critics, that it is equivalent to לָכֵן, whether we call it a Chaldaism or not. Certainly it was current in Chaldee (see Daniel 2:6, 9). But it may have floated in circles of Semitic society that were never included within Chaldaea proper. Indeed, there were no precise limits bounding off the Chaldee language from the kindred dialects, just as there are no such limits in English or in German, or in any member of a linguistic group. Idioms often overlap. In the two interrogative clauses, "Would ye for that purpose wait till they grew up. Would ye for that purpose seclude, yourselves, so as not to have husbands? there is a parallelism; only, in the second clause, the representation rises. "For my lot is exceedingly bitter, more than even yours;" literally, "for it is bitter to me exceedingly, beyond you." The verb is used impersonally. Naomi means that her case was even more lamentable than theirs, so that she could not encourage them to hang their dependence on her help, or to hope for a retrieval of their circumstances in becoming partakers of her fortunes. The translation of King James's version, "for your sakes," though decidedly supported by the Septuagint, is unnatural. Pagnin and Drusius both give the correct rendering, "more than you." So do Michaelis and Wright, But Bertheau and Gesenius agree with King James s version. The Syriac Peshito, strange to say, gives both translations, "I feel very bitterly for you, and to me it is more bitter than to you."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Return home,
שֹׁ֤בְנָה (šō·ḇə·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine plural
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

my daughters.
בְנֹתַי֙ (ḇə·nō·ṯay)
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1323: A daughter

Go on,
לֵ֔כְןָ (lê·ḵə·nā)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

for
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

I am too old
זָקַ֖נְתִּי (zā·qan·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2204: To be or become old

to have
מִהְי֣וֹת (mih·yō·wṯ)
Preposition-m | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

another husband.
לְאִ֑ישׁ (lə·’îš)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

Even if
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

I thought
אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ (’ā·mar·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

there was
יֶשׁ־ (yeš-)
Adverb
Strong's 3426: Being, substance, existence, is

hope
תִקְוָ֔ה (ṯiq·wāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8615: A cord, expectancy

for me
לִ֣י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

to have
הָיִ֤יתִי (hā·yî·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a husband
לְאִ֔ישׁ (lə·’îš)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

tonight
הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ (hal·lay·lāh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity

and
גַּ֣ם (gam)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

to bear
יָלַ֥דְתִּי (yā·laḏ·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

sons,
בָנִֽים׃ (ḇā·nîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son


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OT History: Ruth 1:12 Turn again my daughters go your way (Ru Rut.)
Ruth 1:11
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