Ruth 1:6-14
Go Back, My Daughters
Read the passage
6When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab.
7Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road leading back to the land of Judah.
8Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
9May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud
10and said, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”
11But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?
12Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,
13would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”
14Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
News reaches Naomi that the LORD has provided food for His people. She sets out toward Judah with both daughters-in-law. Then she urges them to return to their mothers' homes and asks the LORD to show them the loving devotion they have shown to her and to their dead husbands.
She also prays that each will find rest in a new husband's home. Her words acknowledge their kindness and seek their good. When she kisses them goodbye, all three weep, and both younger women say they will go with her.
Naomi explains why she sees no future for them in following her. She has no sons for them to marry. Even if she could marry and have sons, would they wait for the boys to grow up? She cannot offer the family future she believes they need.
Her final words reveal her own pain: she believes the LORD's hand has gone against her, making her life bitter. That is Naomi speaking from grief, not a complete account of everything God will do. They weep again. Orpah kisses her goodbye, while Ruth clings to her. The passage does not condemn Orpah; it draws our attention to Ruth's determination to remain.
Questions
1 What news starts Naomi’s journey home?
AnswerShe hears that the LORD has attended to His people by providing food. She leaves Moab with both daughters-in-law.
2 What does she ask the LORD to give them?
AnswerShe asks Him to show them loving devotion and give each rest in a new husband’s home, remembering their kindness to her and their husbands.
3 Why does Naomi urge them to turn back?
AnswerShe cannot offer them sons to marry or the secure future she wants for them. Her argument also reveals her bitterness and grief.
4 How can we be truthful about what we cannot provide?
AnswerWe can name our limits kindly and ask what other help is available. Admitting a limit does not require withdrawing our care or pretending the person has no future.
What This Means for Us
Naomi cannot supply what she hopes her daughters-in-law will receive, but she can pray for them and acknowledge their love. We also have limits. Tell the truth about them without making our limits the measure of God's care. A person may need help we cannot give, and we can remain loving while seeking that help with them.
Prayer
Lord, help us speak honestly and kindly about our limits. Thank You for love we have received. Care for those whose needs exceed what we can provide, and teach us how to remain faithful friends. Amen.