Ruth 1:14-22

New American Standard Bible

Ruth’s Loyalty

¹⁴ And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her ^(A)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May ^(B)the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates ^[a]me from you.” ¹⁸ When ^(C)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

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