19 So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, (A)all the city was stirred because of them, and [a]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me [b]Naomi; call me [c]Mara, for [d](B)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, but (C)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and [e]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at (D)the beginning of barley harvest.

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 1:19 Lit they
  2. Ruth 1:20 I.e., pleasant
  3. Ruth 1:20 I.e., bitter
  4. Ruth 1:20 Heb Shaddai
  5. Ruth 1:21 Heb Shaddai

19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.

20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara,[a] for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer[b] and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”

22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:20 Naomi means “pleasant”; Mara means “bitter.”
  2. 1:21 Or has testified against me.