| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. | 1During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. |
| 2The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. | 2(Now the man's name was Elimelech, his wife was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there. |
| 3But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. | 3Sometime later Naomi's husband Elimelech died, so she and her two sons were left alone. |
| 4These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, | 4So her sons married Moabite women. (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) And they continued to live there about ten years. |
| 5and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. | 5Then Naomi's two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. So the woman was left all alone--bereaved of her two children as well as her husband! |
| 6Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. | 6So she decided to return home from the region of Moab, accompanied by her daughters-in-law, because while she was living in Moab she had heard that the LORD had shown concern for his people, reversing the famine by providing abundant crops. |
| 7So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. | 7Now as she and her two daughters-in-law began to leave the place where she had been living to return to the land of Judah, |
| 8But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. | 8Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Listen to me! Each of you should return to your mother's home! May the LORD show you the same kind of devotion that you have shown to your deceased husbands and to me! |
| 9The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. | 9May the LORD enable each of you to find security in the home of a new husband!" Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly. |
| 10And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” | 10But they said to her, "No! We will return with you to your people." |
| 11But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? | 11But Naomi replied, "Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands! |
| 12Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, | 12Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons, |
| 13would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” | 13surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry! Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! No, my daughters, you must not return with me. For my intense suffering is too much for you to bear. For the LORD is afflicting me!" |
| 14Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. | 14Again they wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her. |
| 15And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” | 15So Naomi said, "Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law back home!" |
| 16But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. | 16But Ruth replied, "Stop urging me to abandon you! For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people will become my people, and your God will become my God. |
| 17Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” | 17Wherever you die, I will die--and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I do not keep my promise! Only death will be able to separate me from you!" |
| 18And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. | 18When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her. |
| 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” | 19So the two of them journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem. Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem When they entered Bethlehem, the whole village was excited about their arrival. The women of the village said, "Can this be Naomi?" |
| 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. | 20But she replied to them, "Don't call me 'Naomi'! Call me 'Mara' because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly. |
| 21I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” | 21I left here full, but the LORD has caused me to return empty-handed. Why do you call me 'Naomi,' seeing that the LORD has opposed me, and the Sovereign One has caused me to suffer?" |
| 22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. | 22So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. (Now they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.) |
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