Ruth 1:11
“And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Naomi again presses them to turn back, having no more sons to offer them as husbands.
What Does Ruth 1:11 Mean?
Naomi presses them a second time to turn back, and her reasoning reaches into a custom of the day. In Israel, a widow might marry her late husband's brother so that the family line would continue. But Naomi has no more sons, and asks gently: are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? She has nothing left to give them, no provision, no future husband, no security.
Calling them my daughters, Naomi speaks with deep affection even as she urges them away. She will not let love for her bind them to a hopeless path. Her honesty is its own kind of mercy: she refuses to hold them with false promises. Sometimes the most loving thing is to tell the painful truth about what we cannot offer. Yet what Naomi cannot supply, God will. The future she declares impossible is the very place where His unseen provision is already moving toward them.