Ruth 1 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Now there came a time, in the days of the judges, when there was no food in the land. And a certain man went from Beth-lehem-judah, he and his wife and his two sons, to make a living-place in the country of Moab.
1 In the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to live in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and were there for some time.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab and lived there.
3 And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, came to his end; and only her two sons were with her.
3 Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
4 And they took two women of Moab as their wives: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth; and they went on living there for about ten years.
4 They took for themselves wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years.
5 And Mahlon and Chilion came to their end; and the woman was without her two sons and her husband.
5 Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband.
6 So she and her daughters-in-law got ready to go back from the country of Moab, for news had come to her in the country of Moab that the Lord, in mercy for his people, had given them food.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab; for she had heard in the country of Moab how Yahweh had visited his people in giving them bread.
7 And she went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah.
7 She went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her. They went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go back to your mothers' houses: may the Lord be good to you as you have been good to the dead and to me:
8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9 May the Lord give you rest in the houses of your husbands. Then she gave them a kiss; and they were weeping bitterly.
9 May Yahweh grant you that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices, and wept.
10 And they said to her, No, but we will go back with you to your people.
10 They said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, Go back, my daughters; why will you come with me? Have I more sons in my body, to become your husbands?
11 Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Go back, my daughters, and go on your way; I am so old now that I may not have another husband. If I said, I have hopes, if I had a husband tonight, and might have sons,
12 Go back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, ‘I have hope,’ if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons,
13 Would you keep yourselves till they were old enough? would you keep from having husbands for them? No, my daughters; but I am very sad for you that the hand of the Lord is against me.
13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me seriously for your sakes, for Yahweh’s hand has gone out against me.”
14 Then again they were weeping; and Orpah gave her mother-in-law a kiss, but Ruth would not be parted from her.
14 They lifted up their voices and wept again; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her.
15 And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods: go back after your sister-in-law.
15 She said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.”
16 But Ruth said, Give up requesting me to go away from you, or to go back without you: for where you go I will go; and where you take your rest I will take my rest; your people will be my people, and your God my God.
16 Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.
17 Wherever death comes to you, death will come to me, and there will be my last resting-place; the Lord do so to me and more if we are parted by anything but death.
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 And when she saw that Ruth was strong in her purpose to go with her she said no more.
18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19 So the two of them went on till they came to Beth-lehem. And when they came to Beth-lehem all the town was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
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?”
20 And she said to them, Do not let my name be Naomi, but Mara, for the Ruler of all has given me a bitter fate.
20 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 the Lord has sent me back again with nothing; why do you give me the name Naomi, seeing that the Lord has given witness against me, and the Ruler of all has sent sorrow on 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?”
22 So Naomi came back out of the country of Moab, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her; and they came to Beth-lehem in the first days of the grain-cutting.
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Chilion
Son of Elimelech and Naomi who married a Moabite woman and died in Moab, whose property Boaz bought; Orpah is his wife by implication, since Ruth was Mahlon's widow.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1:2; Ruth 1:5; Ruth 4:9
Elimelech
Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah who took his wife Naomi and sons Mahlon and Chilion to Moab in a famine and died there, whose clan-relative Boaz later bought back his land.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1:2; Ruth 1:3; Ruth 2:1
Mahlon
Son of Elimelech and Naomi who died in Moab and whose widow Ruth Boaz acquired as his wife to raise up Mahlon's name on his inheritance.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1:2; Ruth 1:5; Ruth 4:9
Naomi
Wife of Elimelech who lost her husband and both sons in Moab, returned to Bethlehem asking to be called Mara, and cared for Ruth's son Obed, of whom the women said a son had been…
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1:2; Ruth 1:20; Ruth 3:1
Orpah
Moabite wife of one of Naomi's sons who set out with Naomi and Ruth but kissed her mother-in-law goodbye and returned to her own people and gods.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1:4; Ruth 1:14
Ruth
The loyal Moabite widow whose devotion made her great-grandmother of King David.
Cited in the guide: Ruth 1-4; Matthew 1:5
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 12:10; Genesis 26:1; Ezekiel 14:13; Deuteronomy 28:23–24; 2 Kings 8:1–2
- 2 Genesis 35:19; Micah 5:2; 1 Samuel 17:21; 1 Samuel 1:1
- 3 Psalm 34:19; Hebrews 12:6; 2 Kings 4:1; Hebrews 12:10–11
- 4 Matthew 1:5; Deuteronomy 7:3; Deuteronomy 23:3; 1 Kings 11:1–2
- 5 Deuteronomy 32:39; Psalm 89:30–32; Isaiah 49:21; Matthew 22:25–27; Jeremiah 2:19
- 6 Psalm 132:15; Psalm 111:5; Exodus 4:31; Luke 1:68; Matthew 6:11
- 7 2 Kings 8:3; Ruth 1:14; Exodus 18:27; Ruth 1:10
- 8 Ruth 2:20; Ruth 1:5; Colossians 3:18; Colossians 3:24; Ephesians 6:2–3
- 9 Ruth 3:1; Genesis 29:11; Acts 20:37; Genesis 27:27; Genesis 45:15
- 10 Zechariah 8:23; Psalm 119:63; Psalm 16:3
- 11 Deuteronomy 25:5; Genesis 38:11
- 12 Genesis 17:17; 1 Timothy 5:9
- 13 Job 19:21; Psalm 32:4; Judges 2:15; Psalm 38:2; Psalm 39:9–10
- 14 Proverbs 18:24; Matthew 16:24; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 19:22; Hebrews 10:39
- 15 Zephaniah 1:6; Judges 11:24; Psalm 125:5; 2 Kings 2:2; Joshua 24:15
- 16 2 Samuel 15:21; Ruth 2:11–12; 2 Kings 2:2–6; Psalm 45:10; Matthew 8:19
- 17 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Samuel 19:13; 2 Kings 6:31; 1 Kings 2:23; 1 Kings 20:10
- 18 Acts 21:14; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 6:10
- 19 Matthew 21:10; Lamentations 2:15; Isaiah 23:7
- 20 Job 6:4; Hebrews 12:11; Psalm 88:15; Isaiah 38:13; Job 19:6
- 21 1 Samuel 2:7–8; Job 1:21; Job 16:8; Job 13:26; Job 10:17
- 22 Ruth 2:23; 2 Samuel 21:9; Exodus 9:31–32
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences