Passage

Ruth 1.19

Book: Ruth · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

17. where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. 18. And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.

19. So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, Is this Naomi?

And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21. I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? (Ruth 1:17-21, ASV)

WEB

17. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” 18. When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

19. So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. When they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was excited about them, and they asked, “Is this Naomi?”

She said to them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21. I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” (Ruth 1:17-21, WEB)

KJV

17. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. ^{was: Heb. strengthened herself}

19. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. ^{Naomi: that is, Pleasant} ^{Mara: that is, Bitter} 21. 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? (Ruth 1:17-21, KJV)

YLT

17. Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add, for death itself doth part between me and thee.' 18. And she seeth that she is strengthening herself to go with her, and she ceaseth to speak unto her;

19. and they go both of them till their coming in to Beth-Lehem; and it cometh to pass at their coming in to Beth-Lehem, that all the city is moved at them, and they say, 'Is this Naomi?'

And she saith unto them, 'Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly to me, 21. I went out full, and empty hath Jehovah brought me back, why do ye call me Naomi, and Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath done evil to me?' (Ruth 1:17-21, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the narrator of Ruth, an anonymous storyteller; the women of Beth-lehem speak
Audience: the readers of the book
Location: Beth-lehem
Time period: the period of the judges (Ruth 1:1), "in the beginning of barley harvest" (1:22)

Theological reading

"So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, Is this Naomi?" The question suggests how changed she was after years away and three deaths.

Naomi's answer follows: "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me" (1:20). The KJV margin glosses the names, "Pleasant" and "Bitter." She adds, "I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty" (1:21).

Yet the narrator closes the scene with a quiet sign of hope: they came to Beth-lehem "in the beginning of barley harvest" (1:22). Naomi says she returned empty, but Ruth stands beside her and the harvest is beginning. The women who greet her here will bless her at the end (4:14-15).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.