1It happened in the days when the judges were judging that there was a famine in the land, and a man went from Bethlehem in Judah to live as a foreigner in the territory of Moab—he and his wife and his two sons.2The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and remained there.3Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.4They married Moabite women; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth, and they lived there about ten years.5Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.6She set out with her daughters-in-law and returned from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in the territory of Moab that the LORD had taken note of his people by giving them food.7She left the place where she had been staying, and her two daughters-in-law went with her. They traveled along the road in order to return to the land of Judah.8Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you to your mother's house. May the LORD show kindness to you as you have shown kindness to the dead and to me.9May the LORD grant that each of you find rest in the home of a husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud.10They said to her, "We will return with you to your people."11Naomi replied, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb who could become your husbands?"12"Return, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me and even if I had a husband tonight and bore sons,"13"would you wait until they grew up? Would you refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; it is far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has gone out against me."14They wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.15Naomi said, "See, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her gods; return after her."16Ruth answered, "Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you. Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God."17"Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do thus to me and more also if anything but death separates me from you."18When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.19So the two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"20She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me."21"I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?"22Thus Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who had come back from the territory of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.