RUTH 1:17 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ οὗ ἐὰν ἀποθάνῃς, ἀποθανοῦμαι, κᾀκεῖ ταφήσομαι· τάδε ποιήσαι μοι Κύριος, καὶ τάδε προσθείη, ὅτι θάνατος διαστελεῖ ἀναμέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ σοῦ.
(Kai hou ean apothanaʸs, apothanoumai, kakei tafaʸsomai; tade poiaʸsai moi Kurios, kai tade prostheiaʸ, hoti thanatos diastelei anameson emou kai sou. )

BrTr And wherever thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if I leave thee, for death only shall divide between me and thee.

ULT In the place where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do thus to me, and thus may he add, if death separates between me and between you.”

UST Wherever you die, there I will die, and they will bury me there. May Yahweh punish me severely if I leave you even after we die.”

OEB I will die where you die, and be buried there. May the Lord bring a curse upon me, if anything but death separate you and me.’

WEBBE Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(16-17)But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!”

NET Wherever you die, I will die – and there I will be buried.
⇔ May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise!
⇔ Only death will be able to separate me from you!”

LSV Where you die I die, and there I am buried; thus does YHWH to me, and thus He adds—for death itself parts between me and you.”

FBV Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me harshly if I let anything but death separate us!”

T4T Where you die, I will die. Where you are buried, I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me severely if I separate from you. I will be separated from you only when one of us dies.”

LEB Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. So may Yahweh do to me, _⌊and even more, unless_⌋[fn] death _⌊separates you and me_⌋!”[fn]

1:17 Literally “and so may he do again, that”

1:17 Literally “makes a separation between you and between me”

BBE Wherever death comes to you, death will come to me, and there will be my last resting-place; the Lord do so to me and more if we are parted by anything but death.

Moff No Moff RUTH book available

JPS where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.'

ASV where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.

DRA The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and so to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee.

YLT Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add — for death itself doth part between me and thee.'

Drby where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part me and thee!

RV where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.
(where thou/you diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee/you and me. )

SLT Where thou shalt die, I will die, and there will I be buried: thus will Jehovah do to me, and thus will he add, for death shall separate between me and between thee.

Wbstr Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death shall part thee and me.

KJB-1769 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.
(Where thou/you 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/you and me. )

KJB-1611 Where thou diest, wil I die, and there will I bee buried: the LORD doe so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
(Where thou/you 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/you and me.)

Bshps Where thou diest, there will I die, and there wyl I be buried: The Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death depart thee and me.
(Where thou/you diest, there will I die, and there will I be buried: The Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death depart thee/you and me.)

Gnva 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 depart thee and me.
(Where thou/you diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. the Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death depart thee/you and me. )

Cvdl Loke where thou diest, there wil dye, and euen there wil I also be buried. The LORDE do this and that vnto me, death onely shal departe vs.
(Look where thou/you diest, there will dye, and even there will I also be buried. The LORD do this and that unto me, death only shall depart us.)

Wycl what lond schal resseyue thee diynge, Y schal die ther ynne, and there Y schal take place of biriyng; God do to me these thingis, and adde these thingis, if deeth aloone schal not departe me and thee.
(what land shall receive thee/you dying, I shall die therein, and there I shall take place of burying; God do to me these things, and add these things, if death alone shall not depart me and thee/you.)

Luth Wo du stirbst, da sterbe ich auch; da will ich auch begraben werden. Der HErr tue mir dies und das: der Tod muß mich und dich scheiden.
(Where you(sg) stirbst, there die I also; there will I also buried become. The LORD do/act to_me this/these and that: the/of_the Tod must me and you/yourself divorce(v).)

ClVg Quæ te terra morientem susceperit, in ea moriar: ibique locum accipiam sepulturæ. Hæc mihi faciat Dominus, et hæc addat, si non sola mors me et te separaverit.
(Which you(sg) earth/land to_dieentem susceperit, in/into/on them to_diear: and_there place I_will_accept burials. This to_me let_him_do Master, and these_things he_adds, when/but_if not/no alone death me and you(sg) separaverit. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:6–22: Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth

This section talks about the next main event of the story, which is Naomi’s return to Bethlehem, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Ruth.

Many scholars agree that verses 1:7–21 describe this event in detail, and that verse 1:22 is the closing verse of this section, which summarizes the event.

However, scholars do not agree about the function of verse 1:6. Some scholars believe that verse 1:6 is a summary introduction. It says that Naomi arose (she and her daughters-in-law) and returned from the region of Moab. Thus, this section begins and ends with a summary description of the main event.NICOT (pages 99–100 ): The common Hebrew idiom qûm plus a verb of motion (šûḇ) also signals the start of the story’s main action: Then she…returned. Structurally, the idiom is a summary-introduction to the following events (vv. 7–21) and forms an inclusio with the chapter’s summary-conclusion (cf. wattāšāḇ, v. 22). Further, it sounds the chapter’s main theme, namely, the return of Naomi.

Some other scholars do not believe that verse 1:6 is a summary introduction. Rather 1:6 describes the first part of the action. It says that she arose (she and her daughters-in-law) and prepared to return from the region of Moab.

The majority of versions follow the second suggestion. However, the first suggestion follows a pattern that is also in some other Hebrew narratives. An event is introduced by a summary statement, and the verses after it describe that event in detail.For example: Genesis 1:1 introduces the creation account of 1:2–31. Genesis 6:7 introduces the flood account of Genesis 6–9. Ruth 1:1–2 introduces the first section in Ruth 1:3–5. See the Note on 1:6b for more information.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem (NIV)

Naomi and Ruth Return (NLT)

Departure from Moab (GW)

Paragraph 1:16–18

Ruth’s answer in verses 16–17 is in the form of parallel lines. Poetry in Hebrew consists of parallel lines. In these verses, the same meaning is stated twice in a similar way. It is recommended that you keep the form of the lines parallel if it is possible.

1:17a

Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.

Wherever you die, I will stay until I die, and in that place I will be buried.
The place where you die is where I intend to die, and in that place they will bury me.

Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried: Ruth meant that she intended to stay in Israel with Naomi’s people all her life, even after Naomi’s own death. Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

Wherever you die, I will die, and I will be buried there with you. (GW)

I will die where you die and be buried beside you. (CEV)

1:17b

May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

May Yahweh punish me strongly if anything except death causes me to leave you.”
When one of us dies, then we^(dual/incl) will be separated. But if I leave you for any other reason, may Yahweh punish me very severely.”

May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely: The Hebrew words are more literally “Thus may Yahweh do to me, and thus may he add.” This was a way of making an oath or a solemn promise. The word “thus” refers to the punishment that Yahweh would give the person who did not keep the oath. Many languages have a specific way to indicate that someone is taking an oath.

Here are some other ways to translate this oath:

May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, (CSB)

May the Lord’s worst punishment come upon me (GNT)

May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise! (NET)

if anything but death separates you and me: There are two ways to interpret this Hebrew sentence:

It means that they will separate from each other only when one of them dies. For example:
May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise! Only death will be able to separate me from you! (NET) (BSB, ESV, GNT, KJV, NASB, NET, NIV84, NJPS, NLT)
It means that they will not be separated from each other even when they die, because they will be buried in the same place. For example:
May the Lord do so to me and more also if even death parts me from you. (RSV) (CEV, NABRE, NCV, NIV, RSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This is followed by many English versions and most commentaries.WBC, NAC, KD, UBS.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

I will stay beside you until death makes us separate. If I ever leave you, the Lord should punish me. (EASY)

May Yahweh punish me severely if I separate from you. I will be separated from you only when one of us dies. (T4T)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-oathformula

כֹּה֩ יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה יְהוָ֥ה לִ⁠י֙ וְ⁠כֹ֣ה יֹסִ֔יף

thus he/it_made/did YHWH to=me and,thus more

Ruth uses this oath formula to show that she is very committed to doing what she says. She calls down a curse on herself, asking God to punish her if she does not do what she has said she would do. In keeping with the custom, she did not express what that punishment would be. Use a natural way in your language to express an oath. Alternate translation: [May Yahweh strike me dead, and may he do more, and may he do even more]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

כִּ֣י הַ⁠מָּ֔וֶת יַפְרִ֖יד בֵּינִ֥⁠י וּ⁠בֵינֵֽ⁠ךְ

that/for/because/then/when (the),death separates between,me and,between,you

This could mean: (1) even death cannot overcome Ruth’s commitment to Naomi. This could be a form of hyperbole or simply a way to restate her commitment to be buried in the same place as Naomi is buried. Alternate translation: [if even death separates us from each other] (2) the only thing that can separate Ruth from Naomi would be the death of one of them. Alternate translation: [if anything other than death separates us from each other] or [if I leave you while you and I are both still alive]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

יַפְרִ֖יד בֵּינִ֥⁠י וּ⁠בֵינֵֽ⁠ךְ

separates between,me and,between,you

This phrase is an idiom that means “separates you and me.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use an idiom from your language that does have this meaning or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [separates the two of us] or [comes between us]

Parallel RUTH 1:17

Section 1:6–22: Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth

Paragraph 1:16–18

1:17a

1:17b

The Setting of Ruth