Ruth 1:17
“Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Ruth seals her vow with an oath in the name of the Lord, binding herself to Naomi until death.
What Does Ruth 1:17 Mean?
Ruth completes her vow with the language of permanence: where Naomi dies, she will die and be buried, never to return to Moab even in death. Then she binds it with a solemn oath, calling on the Lord Himself, the LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts them. The Moabite woman swears by the name of Israel's God, the surest sign that she has truly made Him her own.
To be buried in a foreign land was, in that world, the final renunciation of one's homeland; Ruth gives up even her grave. Her oath is unconditional, sealed before the very God she has just embraced. This is covenant love at its purest, a love that holds nothing in reserve and answers to God for its faithfulness. Such steadfast devotion mirrors the unbreakable love with which God binds Himself to His people, the love that will not let go, that death itself cannot finally sever.