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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”

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, “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 opposed[c] me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi came back from the territory 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. 1:19 Lit excited because of them
  2. 1:20 = Bitter; see v. 2
  3. 1:21 LXX, Syr, Vg read has humiliated