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Ruth 1:16
“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”
Ruth 1:16, King James Version (KJV)
“Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.”
World English Bible (WEB)
Ruth 1 (KJV)
- 1Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
- 2And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
- 3And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
- 4And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
- 5And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
- 6Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
- 7Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
- 8And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
- 9The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
- 10And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
- 11And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
- 12Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
- 13Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
- 14And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
- 15And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
- 16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
- 17Where 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.
- 18When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
- 19So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
- 20And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
- 21I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
- 22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
Related verses
Passages that readers often connect with Ruth 1:16, in the King James Version.
2 Samuel 15:21
And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
Ruth 2:11–12
And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. …
2 Kings 2:2–6
And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. …
Psalm 45:10
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
Matthew 8:19
And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
John 13:37
Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
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1769 standardized text (eBible.org eng-kjv). Public domain outside the United Kingdom. Text courtesy of the Crosswire Bible Society and eBible.org. World English Bible Protestant Edition (eBible engwebp, 2026-09-15 snapshot). Public domain. World English Bible is a trademark of eBible.org. Text unmodified; footnotes and formatting omitted. Related verses: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0), from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.