Ruth 1:1-5 ▼

1 Once back in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land; so a man from Bethlehem of Judah left home with his wife and two sons to reside on the plateau of Moab.

2 The man was named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and his sons Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. Some time after their arrival on the plateau of Moab,

3 Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.

4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years,

5 both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two boys nor her husband.