1 And it came to pass when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land: and a man went from Bethlehem Judah to sojourn in the land of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the man’s name [was] Elimelech, and his wife’s name Naomi, and the names of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem of Judah: and they came to the land of Moab, and remained there. 3 And Elimelech the husband of Naomi died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 And they took to themselves wives, women of Moab; the name of the one [was] Orpah, and the name of the second Ruth; and they dwelt there about ten years. 5 And both Mahlon and Chilion died also; and the woman was left of her husband and her two sons. 6 And she rose up and her two daughters-in-law, and they returned out of the country of Moab, for she heard in the country of Moab that the Lord [had] visited his people to give them bread. 7 And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her: and they went by the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, Go now, return each to the house of her mother: the Lord deal mercifully with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 9 The Lord grant you that ye may find rest each of you in the house of her husband: and she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10 And they said to her, We will return with thee to thy people. 11 And Naomi said, Return now, my daughters; and why do ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb to be your husbands? 12 Turn now, my daughters, for I am too old to be married: for I said, Suppose I were married, and should bear sons; 13 would ye wait for them till they should be grown? or would ye refrain from being married for their sakes? Not so, my daughters; for I am grieved for you, that the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me. 14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and returned to her people; but Ruth followed her. 15 And Naomi said to Ruth, Behold, thy sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods; turn now thou also after thy sister-in-law. 16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee; for whithersoever thou goest, I will go, and wheresoever thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people [shall be] my people, and thy God my God. 17 And wherever thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, [if I leave thee], for death [only] shall divide between me and thee. 18 And Naomi seeing that she was determined to go with her, ceased to speak to her anymore. 19 And they went both of them until they came to Bethlehem: and it came to pass, when they arrived at Bethlehem, that all the city rang with them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 20 And she said to them, Nay, do not call me Naomi; call me Bitter, for the Mighty One has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me back empty: and why call ye me Naomi, whereas the Lord has humbled me, and the Mighty One has afflicted me? 22 So Naomi and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, returned from the country of Moab; and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Ruth 1 Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
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
Places
Bethlehem
Bethlehem was the home of Ruth and Boaz and the birthplace of David. Micah named it as the Messiah's birthplace — fulfilled in Jesus' nativity.
Cited in the guide: Micah 5:2; Ruth 1:19; Luke 2:4-7
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