Ruth 1:1-9 ▼

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem (house of bread) in Judah (praised), with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab (of his father).

2 The man’s name was Elimelech (my God is king), his wife’s name was Naomi (my delight), and the names of his two sons were Mahlon (sick) and Chilion (pining). They were Ephrathites (fruitfulness) from Bethlehem (house of bread) in Judah (praised), and they entered the land of Moab (of his father) and settled there.

3 Then Naomi’s (my delight) husband Elimelech (my God is king) died, and she was left with her two sons,

4 who took Moabite (from father: what father?) women as their wives, one named Orpah (gazelle) and the other named Ruth (friendship). And after they had lived in Moab about ten years,

5 both Mahlon (sick) and Chilion (pining) also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.

6 When Naomi heard in Moab (of his father) that the LORD {YHWH} had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab.

7 Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road leading back to the land of Judah (praised).

8 Then Naomi (my delight) said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD {YHWH} show you⁺ loving devotion {chesed}, as you⁺ have shown to your dead and to me.

9 May the LORD {YHWH} enable each of you⁺ to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud