English Standard Version
Ruth 1:21
21I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?"
Ruth 1:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I 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?
- New International Version (NIV)I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
Context of Ruth 1:21
19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" 20She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" 22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Read all of Ruth 1Ruth 1:21 word by word
אֲנִי֙ מְלֵאָ֣ה הָלַ֔כְתִּי וְרֵיקָ֖ם הֱשִׁיבַ֣נִי יְהוָ֑ה לָ֣מָּה תִקְרֶ֤אנָה לִי֙ נָעֳמִ֔י וַֽיהוָה֙ עָ֣נָה בִ֔י וְשַׁדַּ֖י הֵ֥רַֽע לִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I went outהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- fullמָלֵאmâlê' · fullH4392
- and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- hath brought me home againשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- emptyרֵיקָםrêyqâm · emptilyH7387
- callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
- ye me Naomiנׇעֳמִיno‛ŏmîy · NaomiH5281
- hath testifiedעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- against me, and the Almightyשַׁדַּיshadday · AlmightyH7706
- hath afflictedרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
Cross-references for Ruth 1:21
- 1 Samuel 2:7The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.
- Job 1:21And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
- Job 10:17You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh troops against me.
- Job 13:26For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
- Job 16:8And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face.
- Malachi 3:5"Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Commentaries on Ruth 1:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21I went out full - Having a husband and two sons. The Lord hath brought me home again empty - Having lost all three by death. It is also likely that Elimelech took considerable property with him into the land of Moab; for as he fled from the face of the famine, he would naturally take his property with him; and on this Naomi subsisted till her return to Bethlehem, which she might not have thought of till all was spent.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21The Lord hath testified against me - The phrase is very commonly applied to a man who gives witness concerning (usually against) another in a court of justice Exodus 20:16; 2 Samuel 1:16; Isaiah 3:9. Naomi in the bitterness of her spirit complains that the Lord Himself turned against her, and was bringing her sins up for judgment.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
- 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 1:21
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries