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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 the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came[a] to Bethlehem, all of the town was stirred because of them. And they said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 And she said to them, “You should not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for Shaddai[b] has caused me to be very bitter.[c] 21 I went away full, but Yahweh brought me back empty-handed! Why call me Naomi when Yahweh has testified against me[d] and Shaddai[e] has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, returning from the countryside of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 1:19 Literally “And it happened at the moment of coming”
  2. Ruth 1:20 Often translated “the Almighty”
  3. Ruth 1:20 Literally “caused very bitterness to me”
  4. Ruth 1:21 Literally “and Yahweh answered against me”
  5. Ruth 1:21 Often translated “the Almighty”