Ruth 1:9

9 the Lord give to you to find rest in the houses of [the] husbands which ye shall take. And she kissed them. And they began to weep with (a) high voice,

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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Ruth 1:9 In-Context

7 And so she went out from the place of her pilgrimage with ever either wife of her sons; and now when she was set in the way of turning again into the land of Judah, (And so she went out from the place where she lived with the wives of both of her sons; and now when she was set on the way, returning to the land of Judah,)
8 she said to them, Go ye (again) into the house of your mother; the Lord do mercy with you, as ye did with the dead men, and with me;
9 the Lord give to you to find rest in the houses of [the] husbands which ye shall take. And she kissed them. And they began to weep with (a) high voice,
10 and to say, We shall go with thee to thy people.
11 To whom she answered, My daughters, turn ye again, why come ye with me? I have no more sons in my womb, that ye may hope husbands of me (To whom she answered, My daughters, return ye home, why come ye with me? I have no more sons in my womb, that ye may have any hope of husbands from me;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.