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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Ruth 1 New American Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ruth/1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/ruth/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com/catholic">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NABRE</a> > Ruth 1</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/21.htm" title="Judges 21">◄</a> Ruth 1 <a href="../ruth/2.htm" title="Ruth 2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New American Bible Revised Edition</td><td width="1%" valign="top"></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><section id="ch08001" class="chapter"> <h1 id="cn08001" class="cn"></h1> <p class="pf"><span class="hemb">Naomi in Moab.</span> <span id="v08001001" class="ver">1</span>Once back in the time of the judges<a id="rfn08001001-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001001-1">*</a> there was a famine in the land; so a man from Bethlehem of Judah left home with his wife and two sons to reside on the plateau of Moab. <span id="v08001002" class="ver">2</span>The man was named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and his sons Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. Some time after their arrival on the plateau of Moab, <span id="v08001003" class="ver">3</span>Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. <span id="v08001004" class="ver">4</span>They married Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, <span id="v08001005" class="ver">5</span>both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two boys<a id="rfn08001005-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001005-1">*</a> nor her husband.</p> <p><span id="v08001006" class="ver">6</span>She and her daughters-in-law then prepared to go back from the plateau of Moab because word had reached her there that the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> had seen to his people’s needs<a id="rfn08001006-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001006-1">*</a> and given them food. <span id="v08001007" class="ver">7</span>She and her two daughters-in-law left the place where they had been living. On the road back to the land of Judah, <span id="v08001008" class="ver">8</span>Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s house.<a id="rfn08001008-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001008-1">*</a> May the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> show you the same kindness as you have shown to the deceased and to me. <span id="v08001009" class="ver">9</span><a id="ren08001009-a" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en08001009-a">a</a> May the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> guide each of you to find a husband and a home in which you will be at rest.” She kissed them good-bye, but they wept aloud, <span id="v08001010" class="ver">10</span>crying, “No! We will go back with you, to your people.” <span id="v08001011" class="ver">11</span>Naomi replied, “Go back, my daughters. Why come with me? Have I other sons in my womb who could become your husbands?<a id="rfn08001011-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001011-1">*</a> <span id="v08001012" class="ver">12</span>Go, my daughters, for I am too old to marry again. Even if I had any such hope, or if tonight I had a husband and were to bear sons, <span id="v08001013" class="ver">13</span>would you wait for them and deprive yourselves of husbands until those sons grew up? No, my daughters, my lot is too bitter for you, because the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> has extended his hand against me.” <span id="v08001014" class="ver">14</span>Again they wept aloud; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth clung to her.</p> <p><span id="v08001015" class="ver">15</span>“See now,” she said, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!” <span id="v08001016" class="ver">16</span><a id="rfn08001016-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001016-1">*</a> But Ruth said, “Do not press me to go back and abandon you!</p> <div class="senseline"> <p class="slf">Wherever you go I will go,</p> <p class="sl1">wherever you lodge I will lodge.</p> <p class="sl">Your people shall be my people</p> <p class="sl1">and your God, my God.</p> <p class="sl"><span id="v08001017" class="ver">17</span>Where you die I will die,</p> <p class="sl1l">and there be buried.</p> </div> <p class="pcon">May the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> do thus to me, and more, if even death separates me from you!” <span id="v08001018" class="ver">18</span>Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her.</p> <p class="psec"><span class="hemb">The Return to Bethlehem.</span> <span id="v08001019" class="ver">19</span>So they went on together until they reached Bethlehem. On their arrival there, the whole town was excited about them, and the women asked: “Can this be Naomi?” <span id="v08001020" class="ver">20</span><a id="ren08001020-b" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en08001020-b">b</a> But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi [‘Sweet’]. Call me Mara [‘Bitter’], for the Almighty has made my life very bitter. <span id="v08001021" class="ver">21</span><a id="rfn08001021-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001021-1">*</a> <a id="ren08001021-c" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en08001021-c">c</a> I went away full, but the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> has brought me back empty. Why should you call me ‘Sweet,’ since the <span class="tetr">Lord</span> has brought me to trial, and the Almighty has pronounced evil sentence on me.” <span id="v08001022" class="ver">22</span>Thus it was that Naomi came back with her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.<a id="rfn08001022-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn08001022-1">*</a></p> </section> <br /><h1 class="cn"><a class="xref" href="intro.htm"><span class="ac">Book Introduction</span></a></h1><h1 class="cn"><a class="xref" href="footnotes.htm"><span class="ac">Footnotes</span></a></h1></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the <i>New American Bible, revised edition</i> © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. 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