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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;[a]
    call me Mara,[b]
    for the Almighty[c] has dealt bitterly with me.(A)
21 I went away full,
    but the Lord has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
    when the Lord has dealt harshly with[d] me
    and the Almighty[e] has brought calamity upon me?”(B)

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.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 1.20 That is, pleasant
  2. 1.20 That is, bitter
  3. 1.20 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  4. 1.21 Or has testified against
  5. 1.21 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai

19 So both of them went along until they arrived at Bethlehem. When they arrived at Bethlehem, the whole town was excited on account of them, and the women of the town asked, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 She replied to them, “Don’t call me Naomi,[a] but call me Mara,[b] for the Almighty[c] has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has returned me empty. Why would you call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has deemed me guilty?”

22 Thus Naomi returned. And Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, returned with her from the territory of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 1:20 Naomi means pleasant.
  2. Ruth 1:20 Mara means bitter.
  3. Ruth 1:20 Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain