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Elimelech Moves His Family to Moab

In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.

Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.

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Naomi’s Family

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. 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] Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. Each of her sons[c] married Moabite women: one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. After they lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving Naomi[d] alone with neither her husband nor her two sons.

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 1:1 The Heb. lacks of Israel
  2. Ruth 1:2 The Heb. lacks for some time
  3. Ruth 1:4 Lit. They
  4. Ruth 1:5 Lit. the woman