Ruth 1:18 (DRB)

Passage

Then Noemi seeing that Ruth was steadfastly determined to go with her, would not be against it, nor persuade her any more to return to her friends:

Nearby Context

Ruth 1:16 She answered: Be not against me, to desire that I should leave thee and depart: for whithersoever thou shalt go, I will go: and where thou shalt dwell, I also will dwell. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.

Ruth 1:17 The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and so to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee.

Ruth 1:18 Then Noemi seeing that Ruth was steadfastly determined to go with her, would not be against it, nor persuade her any more to return to her friends:

Ruth 1:19 So they went together, and came to Bethlehem. And when they were come into the city, the report was quickly spread among all: and the women said: This is that Noemi.

Ruth 1:20 But she said to them: Call me not Noemi (that is, beautiful,) but call me Mara (that is, bitter), for the Almighty hath quite filled me with bitterness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "noemi", "seeing", "ruth", "steadfastly", "determined", "against", "persuade", and "return". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "noemi" and "seeing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "The land that shall receive thee dying..." into verse 19's "So they went together and came to...", so "noemi" and "seeing" 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 "noemi" and "seeing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.