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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 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[a] and they asked one another, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 But Naomi replied, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’![b] Call me ‘Mara’![c] 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[d] me.”

22 So Naomi returned to Bethlehem[e] 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 1:19 Lit. at them
  2. Ruth 1:20 I.e. pleasant
  3. Ruth 1:20 I.e. bitter
  4. Ruth 1:21 Or has done evil toward
  5. Ruth 1:22 The Heb. lacks to Bethlehem