Ruth 1:12 (DBY)

Passage

Return, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, should I even have a husband to-night, and should I also bear sons,

Nearby Context

Ruth 1:10 And they said to her, We will certainly return with thee to thy people.

Ruth 1:11 And Naomi said, Return, my daughters: why will ye go with me? Are there yet sons in my womb, that they could be your husbands?

Ruth 1:12 Return, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, should I even have a husband to-night, and should I also bear sons,

Ruth 1:13 would ye wait on that account till they were grown? Would ye stay on that account from having husbands? No, my daughters, for I am in much more bitterness than you; for the hand of Jehovah is gone out against me.

Ruth 1:14 And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave to her.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "return", "daughters", "husband", "should", "hope", and "even". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "return" and "daughters", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And Naomi said Return my daughters why..." into verse 13's "would ye wait on that account till...", so "return" and "daughters" belong inside that flow. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "return" and "daughters" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.