Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons

1 In the days when the judges ruled,^[a](A) there was a famine in the land.^(B) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,^(C) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while^(D) in the country of Moab.^{(E) 2} The man’s name was Elimelek,^(F) his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.^(G) They were Ephrathites^(H) from Bethlehem,^(I) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

³ Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They married Moabite women,^(J) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.^(K) After they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Kilion^(L) also died,^(M) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,^[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,^[b] because the Almighty^[c](A) has made my life very bitter.^{(B) 21} I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.^(C) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted^[d] me;^(D) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,^(E) her daughter-in-law,^(F) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest^(G) was beginning.^(H)