The Meaning of Ruth 1:17 Explained

Ruth 1:17

KJV: 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.

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.'

Darby: 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!

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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Ruth 1:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Ruth 1:15-22 - Love's Steadfast Choice
This young woman was to be an ancestor of David and in the line of our Lord's descent. Moabite though she was by birth, Ruth was designated for the high honor of introducing a new strain into the Hebrew race, that was to enrich it and through it the world. Indeed, we may almost detect in her noble and beautiful words some anticipation of the Psalms, which have gone singing down the ages. But how stern is the discipline through which those must pass who are called to the highest tasks! The death of her husband in their early married life, the anguish of Naomi, the separation from her own people, the loneliness of a foreign land-these were part of the great price that Ruth paid.
May not something also be said for the mother? It was because of her that Ruth was led to her supreme self-giving. She had never seen a suffering soul bear itself so heroically. She felt that, in the Hebrew faith, there was something which Chemosh had never imparted, to her people; she craved for herself some of the holy radiance that lingered on the worn face of Naomi. More people watch our bearing than we think. Let us attract them to Jesus! [source]

Chapter Summary: Ruth 1

1  Elimelech, driven by famine into Moab, dies there
4  Mahlon and Chilion, having married wives of Moab, die also
6  Naomi, returning homeward
8  dissuades her two daughters-in-law from going with her
14  Orpah leaves her, but Ruth with great constancy accompanies her
19  The two come to Bethlehem, where they are gladly received

What do the individual words in Ruth 1:17 mean?

Where you die I will die and there will I be buried So do Yahweh to me and also more if [anything but] death parts you and me
בַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּמ֙וּתִי֙ אָמ֔וּת וְשָׁ֖ם אֶקָּבֵ֑ר כֹּה֩ יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה יְהוָ֥ה לִי֙ וְכֹ֣ה יֹסִ֔יף כִּ֣י הַמָּ֔וֶת יַפְרִ֖יד בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֵֽךְ

בַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר  Where 
Parse: Preposition-b, Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
תָּמ֙וּתִי֙  you  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
אָמ֔וּת  I  will  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וְשָׁ֖ם  and  there 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אֶקָּבֵ֑ר  will  I  be  buried 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: קָבַר  
Sense: to bury.
כֹּה֩  So 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לִי֙  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
וְכֹ֣ה  and  also 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
יֹסִ֔יף  more 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָסַף 
Sense: to add, increase, do again.
הַמָּ֔וֶת  [anything  but]  death 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
יַפְרִ֖יד  parts 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּרַד  
Sense: to separate, divide.
וּבֵינֵֽךְ  and  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, second person feminine singular
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.