Ruth 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons.(A) 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon[a] and Chilion;[b] they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.(B) 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Her Moabite Daughters-in-Law
6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food.(C) 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.(D) 9 The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud.(E) 10 They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?(F) 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, 13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.”(G) 14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
15 So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said,
“Do not press me to leave you,
to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people
and your God my God.(H)
17 Where you die, I will die,
and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.(I)
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them,
“Call me no longer Naomi;[c]
call me Mara,[d]
for the Almighty[e] has dealt bitterly with me.(J)
21 I went away full,
but the Lord has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
when the Lord has dealt harshly with[f] me
and the Almighty[g] has brought calamity upon me?”(K)
22 So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.(L)
Ruth 1
International Standard Version
Naomi’s Family
1 Now there came a time of famine while judges were ruling in the land of Israel.[a] A man from Bethlehem of Judah, his wife, and his two sons left to live in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and their two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They journeyed to the country of Moab and lived there for some time.[b] 3 Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Each of her sons[c] married Moabite women: one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. After they lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving Naomi[d] alone with neither her husband nor her two sons.
Naomi Returns to Judah
6 She and her daughters-in-law prepared to return from the country of Moab, because she had heard while living there[e] how the Lord had come to the aid of his people, giving them relief.[f] 7 So she left the place where she had been, along with her two daughters-in-law, and they traveled along the return road to the land of Judah. 8 But along the way,[g] Naomi told her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you go back home. Return to your mother’s house. May the Lord show his gracious love to you, as you have shown me and our loved ones who have died.[h] 9 May the Lord grant each of you security in your new[i] husbands’ households.” Then she kissed them good-bye,[j] and they cried loudly.
10 They both replied to her, “No! We’ll go back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi responded, “Go back, my daughters. Why go with me? Are there still sons to be born to me[k] as future husbands for you? 12 So go on back, my daughters! Be on your way! I’m too old to remarry.[l] If I were to say that I’m hoping for a husband tonight and then also bore sons this very night,[m] 13 would you wait for them until they were grown? Would you refrain from marriage for them? No, my daughters! I’m more deeply grieved than you, because[n] the Lord is working against me!”
Ruth Remains with Naomi
14 They began to cry loudly again. So Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye,[o] but Ruth remained with her. 15 Naomi told Ruth,[p] “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law!”
16 But Ruth answered, “Stop urging me to abandon you and to turn back from following you. Because wherever you go, I’ll go. Wherever you live, I’ll live. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I’ll die and be buried. May the Lord do this to me—and more—if anything[q] except death comes between you and me.”
18 When Naomi[r] observed Ruth’s[s] determination to travel with her, she ended the conversation. 19 So they continued on until they reached Bethlehem.
Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem
Now when the two of them arrived in Bethlehem, the entire town got excited at the news of their arrival[t] and they asked one another, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 But Naomi replied, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’![u] Call me ‘Mara’![v] That’s because the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. 21 I left here full, but the Lord brought me back empty. So why call me ‘Naomi’? After all, the Lord is against me, and the Almighty has broken[w] me.”
22 So Naomi returned to Bethlehem[x] from the country of Moab, along with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite woman. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Footnotes
- Ruth 1:1 The Heb. lacks of Israel
- Ruth 1:2 The Heb. lacks for some time
- Ruth 1:4 Lit. They
- Ruth 1:5 Lit. the woman
- Ruth 1:6 Lit. living in the country of Moab
- Ruth 1:6 Lit. bread or food
- Ruth 1:8 The Heb. lacks along the way
- Ruth 1:8 Lit. and the dead
- Ruth 1:9 The Heb. lacks new
- Ruth 1:9 The Heb. lacks good-bye
- Ruth 1:11 Lit. sons in my womb
- Ruth 1:12 Lit. to have a husband
- Ruth 1:12 The Heb. lacks this very night
- Ruth 1:13 Lit. because the hand of
- Ruth 1:14 The Heb. lacks good-bye
- Ruth 1:15 The Heb. lacks to Ruth
- Ruth 1:17 The Heb. lacks anything
- Ruth 1:18 The Heb. lacks Naomi
- Ruth 1:18 Lit. her
- Ruth 1:19 Lit. at them
- Ruth 1:20 I.e. pleasant
- Ruth 1:20 I.e. bitter
- Ruth 1:21 Or has done evil toward
- Ruth 1:22 The Heb. lacks to Bethlehem
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