Ruth 1

Verse-by-verse explanation

1. Ruth 1:1The famine that pushes Elimelech and his family to Moab happens in the days when the judges ruled, the same violent and unstable era described in the previous book. It is the backdrop that explains why a family from Bethlehem would risk living among a foreign people.
2. Ruth 1:2The text immediately introduces the whole family by name: Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion, all originally from Bethlehem but now living as foreigners in Moab.
3. Ruth 1:3Elimelech dies in Moab, leaving Naomi alone with her two sons, still far from home.
4. Ruth 1:4Marrying Moabite women was frowned upon in Israel, since Moab had a disputed origin and a history of religious conflict. The book does not directly condemn these marriages, but it sets the stage to show Ruth, a foreigner, becoming a model of loyalty.
5. Ruth 1:5Both sons also die, leaving Naomi without husband or children in a foreign land — a situation of extreme vulnerability for a woman of that time.
6. Ruth 1:6Hearing that the famine in Bethlehem had ended, Naomi decides to return home, taking her two daughters-in-law with her.
7. Ruth 1:7Naomi leaves the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, on the road back to Judah.
8. Ruth 1:8Along the way, Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to go back to their mothers’ homes, praying that the Lord would reward the kindness they had shown to their deceased husbands and to her.
9. Ruth 1:9She wishes that each of them would find a new husband and a new home; as they say goodbye with a kiss, they all weep.
10. Ruth 1:10Both daughters-in-law insist on staying with Naomi, saying they will return with her to her own people.
11. Ruth 1:11Naomi explains to her daughters-in-law that she has no more sons to give them as husbands, a reference to the custom of levirate marriage, in which the brother of a dead man was to marry his widow to raise up an heir in his name. Without sons, she has no way to fulfill that role.
12. Ruth 1:12Naomi insists that they turn back, explaining that she is already too old to have another husband and bear new sons for them.
13. Ruth 1:13She argues that it would make no sense for her daughters-in-law to wait for sons who do not even exist yet, and laments that her situation is more bitter because of what she considers a punishment from the Lord.
14. Ruth 1:14Faced with her insistence, Orpah kisses her mother-in-law goodbye and leaves, but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi.
15. Ruth 1:15Naomi tries to convince Ruth to follow Orpah’s example, going back to her own people and her own gods.
16. Ruth 1:16Ruth’s promise to go wherever Naomi goes is more than affection: it is a formal renunciation of her own people, land, and gods in order to join completely with her mother-in-law’s family and faith. It is unusual for a foreign, widowed daughter-in-law with no obligation to remain tied to her at all.
17. Ruth 1:17Ruth completes her vow, saying she wants to die and be buried where Naomi dies, asking that only death separate them.
18. Ruth 1:18Seeing that Ruth is fully determined, Naomi stops insisting and accepts her company.
19. Ruth 1:19The two arrive together in Bethlehem, and the whole town stirs at their arrival, recognizing Naomi after so many years away.
20. Ruth 1:20Naomi asks to be called Mara, meaning bitter, because she lost her husband and both sons in Moab. It is a request for a name change that reflects her grief, not a name that actually stuck; the text keeps calling her Naomi afterward.
21. Ruth 1:21Naomi explains the reason for her request: she left full, with husband and sons, and returned empty, feeling that the Lord had turned against her.
22. Ruth 1:22The chapter closes with Naomi and Ruth arriving in Bethlehem right at the beginning of the barley harvest — a detail that sets the scene for the next chapter.