New Living Translation
Ruth 1:21
21I 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?”
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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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?"
- 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?”
Context of Ruth 1:21
19So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked. 20“Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 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?” 22So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the 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 some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up.
- Job 1:21He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”
- Job 10:17Again and again you witness against me. You pour out your growing anger on me and bring fresh armies against me.
- Job 13:26“You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth.
- Job 16:8As if to prove I have sinned, you’ve reduced me to skin and bones. My gaunt flesh testifies against me.
- Malachi 3:5“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
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
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