Amplified Bible
Ruth 1:20
20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi (sweetness); call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has caused me great grief and bitterness.
Ruth 1:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
- New International Version (NIV)“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
- English Standard Version (ESV)She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Context of Ruth 1:20
18When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city was stirred because of them, and the women asked, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi (sweetness); call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has caused me great grief and bitterness. 21I left full [with a husband and two sons], but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?” 22So Naomi returned from the country of Moab, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Read all of Ruth 1Ruth 1:20 word by word
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֔ן אַל־תִּקְרֶ֥אנָה לִ֖י נָעֳמִ֑י קְרֶ֤אןָ לִי֙ מָרָ֔א כִּי־הֵמַ֥ר שַׁדַּ֛י לִ֖י מְאֹֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ruth 1:20
- Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].
- Genesis 43:14and may God Almighty grant you compassion and favor before the man, so that he will release to you your other brother [Simeon] and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children [Joseph, Simeon, and Benjamin], I am bereaved.”
- Job 5:17“Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].
- Job 11:7“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?
- Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God, “Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].”
- Revelation 21:22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] and the Lamb are its temple.
- Job 6:4Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Job 19:6Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me And has closed His net around me.
- Psalms 73:14For all the day long have I been stricken, And punished every morning.
- Psalms 88:15I was afflicted and close to death from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.
- Isaiah 38:13I lay down until morning. Like a lion, so He breaks all my bones; From day until night You bring me to an end.
- Lamentations 3:1I am [Jeremiah] the man who has seen affliction Because of the rod of His wrath.
- Hebrews 12:11For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].
Commentaries on Ruth 1:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Call me not Naomi - That is, beautiful or pleasant. Call me Mara - That is, bitter; one whose life is grievous to her. The Almighty - שדי Shaddai, He who is self-sufficient, has taken away the props and supports of my life.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20See the margin. Similar allusions to the meaning of names are seen in Genesis 27:36; Jeremiah 20:3. The Almighty - שׁדי shadday (see the Genesis 17:1 note). The name “Almighty” is almost unique to the Pentateuch and to the Book of Job. It occurs twice in the Psalms, and four times in the Prophets.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-22Verses 19-22 Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. Afflictions will make great and surprising changes in a little time. May God, by his grace, fit us for all such changes, especially the great change!, Naomi signifies "pleasant," or "amiable;" Mara, "bitter," or "bitterness." She was now a woman of a sorrowful spirit. She had come home empty, poor, a widow and childless. But there is a fulness for believers of which they never can be emptied; a good part…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Almighty translates the Hebrew word shadday, which shows God's strength and provision. Naomi's complaint was genuine, but God gave her exactly what she needed (see Ruth 4:14–17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2219-22. all the city was moved about them--The present condition of Naomi, a forlorn and desolate widow, presented so painful a contrast to the flourishing state of prosperity and domestic bliss in which she had been at her departure.Read the comment
Topics related to Ruth 1:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ruth 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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