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Ruth 1:1-22 — Naomi and Ruth

Ruth.1.1-22

¹In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the country of Moab—he, his wife, and his two sons. ²The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was 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. ³Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴They took for themselves Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. And they lived there for about ten years. ⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband. ⁶Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had attended to his people by giving them food. ⁷So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they set out on the road 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 show loyal love to you, just as you have done for the dead and for me. ⁹May the LORD grant that you find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹But Naomi said, "Go back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb who could become your husbands ? ¹²Go back, my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I said, 'I have hope,' and even if I had a husband tonight and also bore sons, ¹³would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you refrain from having husbands for them? No, my daughters, for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has gone out against me." ¹⁴Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ¹⁵So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; go back after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you! For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely, and even more so, if anything but death separates you and me." ¹⁸When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it. ¹⁹So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women asked, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara , for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" ²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, with her, returning from the country of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

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4/11/2026

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