Ruth 1:20 (ASV)

Passage

And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

Nearby Context

Ruth 1:18 And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.

Ruth 1:19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and [the women] said, Is this Naomi?

Ruth 1:20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

Ruth 1:21 I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "call", "naomi", "mara", "almighty", "hath", and "dealt". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "call", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "So they two went until they came..." into verse 21's "I went out full and Jehovah hath...", so "said" and "call" belong inside that flow. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "call" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.