Ruth 1:12
“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;”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Naomi declares herself too old to remarry and bear sons who could one day become their husbands.
What Does Ruth 1:12 Mean?
Naomi lays out her hopelessness plainly. She is too old to marry, and even if by some wonder she found a husband that very night and bore sons, the case would still be impossible. She is pressing her daughters-in-law to face reality and let her go. Her words carry the weariness of a woman who has stopped expecting good things for herself.
Notice the aching phrase if I should say, I have hope. Naomi can barely bring herself to speak the word hope; she holds it at arm's length, as something that no longer belongs to her. Grief can make hope feel almost dishonest. Yet the reader knows what Naomi does not: God is not finished, and hope, though she has set it aside, has not set her aside. The Lord often draws near most powerfully to those who have run out of reasons to expect Him to. Naomi's emptiness is the doorway through which grace will come.