| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab. | 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 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, and they entered the land of Moab and settled 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. |
| 3Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech 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. |
| 4who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab 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. |
| 5both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without 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! |
| 6When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab. | 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. |
| 7Accompanied 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. | 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, |
| 8Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to 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! |
| 9May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud | 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 said, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” | 10But they said to her, "No! We will return with you to your people." |
| 11But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to 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! |
| 12Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to 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 wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it grieves me very much for your sakes 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!" |
| 14Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. | 14Again they wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her. |
| 15“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; follow her back home.” | 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 replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be 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 I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” | 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!" |
| 18When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her. | 18When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her. |
| 19So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole city was stirred because of them, and the women of the city exclaimed, “Can this be 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?" |
| 20“Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite 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, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted 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 from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the 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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