Ruth 1
22 verses
Naomi and her husband Elimelech migrate from Bethlehem to Moab during a famine, a choice framed as prudential (escaping hunger) yet subtly marked as problematic (taking the family away from the covenantal land); Elimelech dies, and both sons marry Moabite women (Orpah and Ruth), violating the Deuteronomic prohibition against Ammonite and Moabite marriages (Deut 23:3-4), yet the narrative presents these marriages without explicit moral judgment. When Naomi's sons also die, she is left with two foreign daughters-in-law and decides to return to Bethlehem, where 'she had heard that the LORD had visited his people with bread' (1:6)—a turning point marked by the recognition of covenantal restoration. Naomi releases Orpah and Ruth to return to their own peoples, expecting them to seek new husbands, yet Ruth clings to Naomi with a pledge of covenant love (ḥesed) and faithfulness: 'Where you go, I will go; where you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God, my God' (1:16)—the quintessential expression of covenantal commitment that transcends ethnic and national boundaries. The chapter establishes Ruth's character as one who embodies ḥesed (loyalty, grace) and who actively chooses the covenant people and the God of Israel, even at personal cost.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
My grandmother used to quote this verse every morning. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The Hebrew word used here...
1
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth–lehem–judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
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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 continued there.
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My grandmother used to quote this verse every morning. Faith isn't the absence of doubt — it's choosing to believe despi...
3
And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
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Their context of persecution gives these words a weight we often miss.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Their co...
4
And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. I think this is a call to trust beyond what we can see. God is faithful in every...
5
And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
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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 that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. Now I understand why — it's a daily declaration of dependence on God.. God meets...
7
Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. ...
8
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
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9
The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
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10
And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
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11
And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
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12
Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
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13
Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. ...
14
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
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15
And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
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Today it speaks comfort; a year ago it spoke conviction.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the sam...
16
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
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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.
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18
When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The Hebrew word used here carries a rich...
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 they said, Is this Naomi?
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20
And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. The thread of covenant runs through every book of the Bible.. The imagery here i...
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?
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Following God is costly, but the reward is eternal.. Now I understand why — it's a daily declaration of dependence on Go...
22
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth–lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
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