19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival[a](A) and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,”[b] she answered,[c] “for the Almighty(B) has made me very bitter.(C) 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.(D) Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has pronounced judgment on[d] me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi came back from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 1:19 Lit excited because of them
  2. Ruth 1:20 = Bitter
  3. Ruth 1:20 Lit answered them
  4. Ruth 1:21 LXX, Syr, Vg read has humiliated

19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.

20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara,[a] for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer[b] and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”

22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:20 Naomi means “pleasant”; Mara means “bitter.”
  2. 1:21 Or has testified against me.