Ruth 1:9

9 May he help each of you find a secure place in the home of another husband. May he give you peace and rest." Then she kissed them good-by. They broke down and sobbed loudly.

Ruth 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 1:9

The Lord grant you
Some make a supplement here, the Targum a perfect reward, Aben Ezra an husband; and so Josephus says {c}, she wished them happier marriages than they had with her sons, who were so soon taken from them; but a supplement seems needless, for what follows is connected with the wish, and contains the sum of it:

that you may find rest;
each of you:

in the house of her husband;
that is, that they might each of them be blessed with a good husband, with whom they might live free from brawls and contentions, as well as from the distressing cares of life, having husbands to provide all things necessary for them, and so from all the sorrows and distresses of a widowhood estate:

then she kissed them;
in token of her affection for them, and in order to part with them; it being usual then as now for relations and friends to kiss at parting:

and they lifted up their voice and wept;
to think they must part, and never see one another more; their passions worked vehemently, and broke out in sobs, and sighs, and tears, and loud crying.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 1.

Ruth 1:9 In-Context

7 She left the place where she had been living. Her two daughters-in-law went with her. They started out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

8 Naomi spoke to her two daughters-in-law. "Both of you go back," she said. "Each of you go to your own mother's home. You were kind to your husbands, who have died. You have also been kind to me. So may the LORD be just as kind to you.

9 May he help each of you find a secure place in the home of another husband. May he give you peace and rest." Then she kissed them good-by. They broke down and sobbed loudly.

10 They said to her, "We'll go back to your people with you."

11 But Naomi said, "Go home, my daughters. Why would you want to come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands?