Ruth 1:19-2:3

English Standard Version

Naomi and Ruth Return

¹⁹ So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, ^(A)the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;^[a] call me ^(B)Mara,^[b] for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ^21 (C)I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

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

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 Now Naomi had ^(E)a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was ^(F)Boaz. ² And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and ^(G)glean among the ears of grain after him ^(H)in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.