Ruth 1:20 kjv
And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
Ruth 1:20 nkjv
But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Ruth 1:20 niv
"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
Ruth 1:20 esv
She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Ruth 1:20 nlt
"Don't call me Naomi," she responded. "Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.
Ruth 1 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 6:4 | "For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; the poison whereof drinketh..." | Bitter complaint directly to God. |
| Lam 3:19-20 | "Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall... My soul hath them in remembrance, and is humbled in me." | Acknowledging deep bitterness and humility. |
| Job 1:21 | "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away..." | God's sovereignty over giving and taking. |
| Job 2:10 | "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" | Acceptance of both good and hardship from God. |
| Ps 69:20 | "Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness..." | Experience of overwhelming sorrow. |
| Prov 14:10 | "The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle..." | Inner, personal nature of bitterness. |
| Lam 3:38-39 | "Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" | God's ultimate sovereignty over all circumstances. |
| Isa 45:7 | "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." | God as the sovereign orchestrator of all events. |
| Heb 12:5-11 | "And ye have forgotten the exhortation... whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth..." | God's discipline, even through suffering, is for good. |
| Gen 17:1 | "When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." | First major revelation of God as El Shaddai. |
| Gen 35:11 | "And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply..." | El Shaddai linked with fruitfulness and covenant. |
| Ex 6:3 | "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them." | God's revelation to patriarchs as El Shaddai. |
| Ps 91:1 | "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." | El Shaddai as protector and provider. |
| Gen 32:28 | "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men..." | Name change signifying a new identity or struggle. |
| Isa 62:2-4 | "...thou shalt be called by a new name... Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah..." | Future renaming signifying restoration and joy. |
| Rev 2:17 | "...to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written..." | New identity and reward in Christ. |
| 1 Pet 4:12-13 | "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you..." | Expectation of suffering and sharing in Christ's pain. |
| Jas 1:2-3 | "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." | Finding purpose in trials and suffering. |
| Ps 77:10 | "And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High." | Struggling with present sorrow but recalling God's past goodness. |
| Ps 142:2 | "I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble." | Expression of deep anguish before God. |
Ruth 1 verses
Ruth 1 20 Meaning
Ruth 1:20 conveys Naomi's profound grief and sense of divine abandonment upon her return to Bethlehem. Having left with a husband and two sons, she returned widowed and childless, experiencing a life emptied of all pleasantness. Her plea to be called "Mara" (bitter) instead of "Naomi" (pleasant) is a public declaration of her internal agony, directly attributing her suffering to the hand of "the Almighty" (El Shaddai), whom she perceives as having dealt harshly with her.
Ruth 1 20 Context
Ruth chapter 1 narrates Naomi's tragic journey. Faced with famine in Bethlehem ("house of bread"), her family migrates to Moab. There, her husband Elimelech and later both her sons, Mahlon and Chilion, die. Naomi, now a widowed and childless foreigner, decides to return to her homeland when she hears the famine has ended. Despite her pleas, her daughter-in-law Ruth insists on accompanying her. Verse 20 captures Naomi's arrival back in Bethlehem, where she is recognized by the townswomen. Her response reveals her immense suffering and altered identity, reflecting a spirit broken by loss and the perceived harsh dealings of God. This raw expression of lament is pivotal, setting the stage for the unfolding of divine providence and restoration within the narrative, despite her immediate despair.
Ruth 1 20 Word analysis
Call me not Naomi:
- Naomi (נָעֳמִי, Na'omi): Derived from the Hebrew root meaning "pleasant," "delightful," or "my pleasantness."
- Significance: Naomi rejects this name as it no longer aligns with her life's bitter reality. It symbolizes her former blessed state, which now feels utterly gone, contrasting sharply with her current sorrow. This self-renaming highlights a profound internal shift driven by tragedy.
call me Mara:
- Mara (מָרָא, Mara'): From the Hebrew root מָרַר (marar), meaning "bitter," "to be bitter or harsh."
- Significance: This is a direct, public, and emotional confession of her bitter experiences. She embraces a name that accurately portrays her suffering, mourning, and sense of loss. It's a testament to how profoundly her circumstances have changed her.
for the Almighty:
- Almighty (שַׁדַּי, Shaddai): Typically rendered "El Shaddai" (God Almighty) and signifying "God All-Sufficient," "God the Nourisher," or "God the Mountain." This divine name often appears in contexts of covenant and God's provision or power, especially concerning promises of fruitfulness to the patriarchs (e.g., Gen 17:1; 35:11; Ex 6:3).
- Significance: Naomi attributes her misfortune directly to God, specifically to El Shaddai. This is a complex expression of faith. On one hand, it shows a profound belief in God's sovereignty over all events, including adversity. On the other hand, it expresses a personal theology of suffering that struggles to reconcile the God of abundance and blessing with her barren reality. Her use of "Shaddai" might imply a feeling of betrayal concerning the very aspect of God associated with the promise of posterity.
hath dealt very bitterly with me:
- dealt bitterly (הֵמַר לִי, hemar li): Causative verb, meaning "He has made it bitter for me" or "He has caused bitterness to me." From the same root marar as "Mara."
- very (מְאֹד, me'od): Intensifier, meaning "greatly," "exceedingly," "very much."
- Significance: This phrase intensifies the perception of her suffering and explicitly links God as the agent. It highlights her intense personal anguish and theological struggle. It is not an accusation in rebellion, but rather a lament borne out of deep pain and an assumption of God's direct involvement in her life, even in sorrow. She views her trials not as random chance but as a deliberate act of divine providence.
Ruth 1 20 Bonus section
- Public Lament: Naomi's pronouncement is a public act, informing the community of her extreme suffering and perhaps seeking their understanding and compassion. This aligns with ancient cultural practices of communal lament.
- Literary Foreshadowing: This verse masterfully establishes the central conflict in Naomi's life: her current emptiness versus the "pleasantness" that is yet to be restored. It foreshadows the divine reversals that characterize the Book of Ruth, where desolation gives way to abundant harvest, widowhood to a new family line, and bitterness to renewed hope and joy through Ruth and Boaz.
- Theology of Suffering: Naomi's candid, sorrowful expression exemplifies how believers may honestly articulate their pain and theological questions to God when life feels unjust, without necessarily renouncing their faith. It highlights a relationship with God robust enough to withstand profound grief.
- Contrast of God's Name: The use of "Shaddai" is particularly striking given the themes of the book. While Naomi feels barren and embittered, God Shaddai will prove Himself in the remainder of the story to be indeed All-Sufficient, bringing fruitfulness, redemption, and a lineage leading to the Messiah. Naomi's statement serves as a dramatic low point from which God's gracious intervention shines all the brighter.
Ruth 1 20 Commentary
Ruth 1:20 is Naomi's poignant cry from a heart overwhelmed by loss. Her instruction to the Bethlehemite women to call her "Mara" (Bitter) instead of "Naomi" (Pleasant) reflects a personal identity profoundly shaped by hardship. This shift underscores the ancient Near Eastern understanding of names, which were seen to reflect a person's character, experience, or destiny. By renaming herself, she publicly redefines her essence from pleasantness to profound bitterness, a transformation born from the deaths of her husband and two sons and her subsequent return to Judah impoverished and without male heirs.
Her declaration, "for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me," is not an act of defiant rejection of God, but rather a sorrowful lament from someone who feels personally afflicted by divine power. Using the divine name "El Shaddai," often associated with God's bounteous provision, especially of children and fruitfulness (Gen 17:1), adds a layer of deep pathos. Naomi’s theological struggle is evident: the God who promised abundance has, in her perception, withdrawn His favor, replacing pleasantness with pain. This passage highlights the profound challenge of faith when divine providence appears to bring only hardship, and it sets the stage for the dramatic reversal of Naomi's fortunes by the close of the book, demonstrating that God can transform even the deepest bitterness into joy and restoration through His redemptive plan.