Other Translations of Ruth 1:20-21
King James Version
20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, Naomi: that is, Pleasant call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 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?
English Standard Version
20 She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi;Naomi means pleasant call me Mara,Mara means bitter for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and 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?"
The Message
20 But she said, "Don't call me Naomi; call me Bitter. The Strong One has dealt me a bitter blow. 21 I left here full of life, and God has brought me back with nothing but the clothes on my back. Why would you call me Naomi? God certainly doesn't. The Strong One ruined me."
New King James Version
20 But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; Literally Pleasant call me Mara, Literally Bitter for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
New Living Translation
20 "Don't call me Naomi," she responded. "Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ruth 1:20-21
Commentary on Ruth 1:19-22
(Read Ruth 1:19-22)
Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. Afflictions will make great and surprising changes in a little time. May God, by his grace, fit us for all such changes, especially the great change!, Naomi signifies "pleasant," or "amiable;" Mara, "bitter," or "bitterness." She was now a woman of a sorrowful spirit. She had come home empty, poor, a widow and childless. But there is a fulness for believers of which they never can be emptied; a good part which shall not be taken from those who have it. The cup of affliction is a "bitter" cup, but she owns that the affliction came from God. It well becomes us to have our hearts humbled under humbling providences. It is not affliction itself, but affliction rightly borne, that does us good.