Tree of Life Version
Ruth 1:20
20“Do not call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara—since Shaddai has made my life bitter.
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 she saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she no longer spoke to Ruth about it. 19So the two of them went on until they arrived in Bethlehem. As soon as they arrived in Bethlehem the whole city was excited because of them, and the women asked, “Is this Naomi?” “Do not call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara—since Shaddai has made my life bitter. 21I went away full, but Adonai has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi, since Adonai has testified against me and Shaddai has brought calamity on me?” 22So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess returned from the region of Moab. 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 99 years old, Adonai appeared to Abram, and He said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Continually walk before Me and you will be blameless.
- Genesis 43:14May El Shaddai grant you mercy before the man, so that he may release your other brother to you, along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
- Job 5:17Behold, happy is the one whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of Shaddai.
- Job 11:7“Can you discover the mysteries of God? Can you find the limits of Shaddai?
- Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says Adonai Elohim, “Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty!”
- Revelation 21:22I saw no temple in her, for its Temple is Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot and the Lamb.
- Job 6:4For the arrows of Shaddai are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors line up against me.
- Job 19:6then know that God has wronged me and encircled me with His net.
- Psalms 73:14For all day I have been stricken, my chastisement comes every morning.
- Psalms 88:15Adonai, why do You spurn me? Why do You hide Your face from me?
- Isaiah 38:13I stilled my soul till morning. Like a lion, He will break all my bones. From day till night You make my end.
- Lamentations 3:1I am the strong man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
- Hebrews 12:11Now all discipline seems painful at the moment—not joyful. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness 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
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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