Ruth

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. A certain man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live for a time in the country of Moab, along with his wife and his two sons.

1Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

Note"The days when the judges ruled" places the story in the period before Israel had kings, when leaders called judges arose locally in times of crisis, a stretch of a few centuries remembered as unsettled and often lawless. Moab was a small kingdom east of the Dead Sea, about a fifty-mile journey from Bethlehem, close enough to reach on foot but a foreign country with its own language, laws and gods; relations between Moab and Israel were often hostile. "Bethlehem in Judah" distinguishes this town from another Bethlehem in the north. The Hebrew name Bethlehem means "house of bread," so a famine in Bethlehem is a deliberate irony in the original.

2The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They came into the country of Moab and stayed there.

2And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

NoteThe names carry meanings a Hebrew listener would hear. Elimelech means roughly "my God is king"; Naomi means "pleasant" or "sweet" (this matters in verse 20). Mahlon and Chilion sound like the Hebrew words for sickness and for wasting away or coming to an end, ominous names for two men who die young. "Ephrathites" identifies the family's clan or district: Ephrathah was an older name for the area around Bethlehem, so this marks them as long-established locals, not newcomers.

3Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.

3And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

4The sons married Moabite women. One was named Orpah and the other was named Ruth. They lived there about ten years.

4And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

5Then Mahlon and Chilion both died as well, and the woman was left without her two sons and without her husband.

5And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

NoteIn this society a woman had no independent legal or economic standing; she was supported through her husband, her sons, or her father's household. A widow with no surviving sons had lost every normal means of support and protection at once. This is why Naomi's situation is presented as a disaster and not simply a grief.

6Then she got up, along with her daughters-in-law, to go back from the country of Moab, because while she was in Moab she had heard that the LORD had come to help his people by giving them food.

6Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

Note"The LORD" printed in capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, four Hebrew letters usually written YHWH. Ancient Jewish practice avoided pronouncing it and said "the Lord" instead; English translations follow that custom by using capitals to show where the name itself stands in the text.

7So she left the place where she had been living, and her two daughters-in-law went with her, and they set out on the road back to the land of Judah.

7Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

8Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, each of you, back to your mother's house. May the LORD be kind to you, as you have been kind to the men who died and to me.

8And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

Note"Your mother's house" is unusual (the normal phrase is "your father's house." The mother's house turns up elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible in connection with marriage and courtship, so Naomi is pointing the women back toward remarriage. "Be kind to you" translates the Hebrew word hesed, which means loyal, generous commitment shown to someone you are not obliged to help) more than politeness, closer to steadfast devotion.

9May the LORD grant that each of you finds rest in the home of a husband." Then she kissed them, and they cried out loud and wept.

9The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

Note"Rest" here does not mean sleep or relief from work. It means a secure, settled place, the safety of a household of one's own, which for a widow meant remarriage.

10They said to her, "No, we will go back with you to your people."

10And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

11But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb who could become your husbands?

11And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

NoteNaomi is referring to a custom sometimes called levirate marriage: when a man died childless, a brother or close male relative was expected to marry the widow, and the first son of that marriage counted as the dead man's heir. Naomi's point is that she has no more sons to offer, and so no way to give Orpah and Ruth a place in her family. This custom becomes central later in the book.

12Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I said that I still have hope, and even if I had a husband tonight and gave birth to sons,

12Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

13would you wait for them until they were grown? Would you keep yourselves from having husbands for them? No, my daughters. It grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me."

13Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

Note"The hand of the LORD has gone out against me" is a set idiom for divine power directed at a person, the way "a hand raised against" someone means active opposition. Naomi is saying her misfortunes are aimed at her personally.

14They cried out loud and wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

14And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

NoteThe word rendered "clung" is a strong physical word for sticking fast to something; it is the same verb used of a husband joining to his wife. The contrast with Orpah's farewell kiss is deliberate: one woman lets go, the other holds on.

15Naomi said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Go back after your sister-in-law."

15And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.

NoteEach nation was understood to have its own god or gods, and Moab's national god was Chemosh. To go back to your people was, in the ordinary way of speaking, to go back to their gods as well, the two were not separable. Naomi is describing a normal, expected return home, not accusing Orpah of anything.

16But Ruth said, "Do not beg me to leave you, or to turn back from following you. Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.

16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and worse still, if anything but death separates you and me."

17Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

Note"May the LORD punish me, and worse still" is a fixed oath formula in Hebrew, literally "may God do so to me and more also." The speaker calls down an unnamed penalty on herself if she breaks her word. It is the strongest form of promise available, roughly the ancient equivalent of swearing under oath.

18When Naomi saw that Ruth was firmly set on going with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

18When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

19So the two of them traveled on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the people said, "Is this Naomi?"

19So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

Note"Stirred" translates a verb suggesting a commotion or uproar running through the town. In the Hebrew, the verb form of "Is this Naomi?" is feminine plural, so it is specifically the women of Bethlehem who ask the question.

20She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

20And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

NoteThe two names are being played against each other. Naomi means "pleasant"; Mara means "bitter." She is saying her name no longer fits her circumstances. "The Almighty" translates the Hebrew title Shaddai, an ancient name for God whose exact sense is uncertain: it may relate to a word for mountain or for power, and English translators have long settled on "Almighty" without being certain that is right.

21I went out full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why then do you call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought suffering on me?"

21I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Note"Full" and "empty" are set against each other deliberately: she left with a husband and two sons, and returns with neither. "Testified against me" is courtroom language, the image is of God appearing as a witness for the prosecution in a legal case against her.

22So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabite woman, her daughter-in-law, who came back from the country of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

NoteBarley was the first grain to ripen, harvested in this region around late April. The detail sets the season and also matters practically: harvest time was when a poor person could go into the fields and gather leftover grain, which is what happens next in the story.