Ruth 1:20

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 stopped trying to persuade her. 19So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me. 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.” 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.

Ruth 1:20 word by word

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֔ן אַל־תִּקְרֶ֥אנָה לִ֖י נָעֳמִ֑י קְרֶ֤אןָ לִי֙ מָרָ֔א כִּי־הֵמַ֥ר שַׁדַּ֛י לִ֖י מְאֹֽד׃Read the interlinear

• Do notאַל'al · notH408
• callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• Naomiנׇעֳמִיno‛ŏmîy · NaomiH5281
• she repliedאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• she repliedאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Maraמָרָאmârâ' · MaraH4755
• becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• the Almightyשַׁדַּיshadday · AlmightyH7706
• has dealt quite bitterlyמָרַרmârar · to provokeH4843
• has dealt quite bitterlyמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966

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 before Me and be blameless.
• Genesis 43:14May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
• Job 5:17Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
• Job 11:7Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
• Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
• Revelation 21:22But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
• Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
• Job 19:6then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me.
• Psalms 73:14For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
• Psalms 88:15From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
• Isaiah 38:13I composed myself until the morning. Like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day until night You make an end of me.
• Lamentations 3:1I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
• Hebrews 12:11No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

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

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Bereavement
• Readings, Select
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Bitter
• Mara
• Move
• Stay
• Arabic Versions
• Bible, the
• Canon of the Old Testament
• Commentaries
• Names, Proper
• Naomi

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