Ruth 1:20 (DRB)

Passage

But she said to them: Call me not Noemi (that is, beautiful,) but call me Mara (that is, bitter), for the Almighty hath quite filled me with bitterness.

Nearby Context

Ruth 1:18 Then Noemi seeing that Ruth was steadfastly determined to go with her, would not be against it, nor persuade her any more to return to her friends:

Ruth 1:19 So they went together, and came to Bethlehem. And when they were come into the city, the report was quickly spread among all: and the women said: This is that Noemi.

Ruth 1:20 But she said to them: Call me not Noemi (that is, beautiful,) but call me Mara (that is, bitter), for the Almighty hath quite filled me with bitterness.

Ruth 1:21 I went out full and the Lord hath brought me back empty. Why then do you call me Noemi, whom the Lord hath humbled, and the Almighty hath afflicted?

Ruth 1:22 So Noemi came with Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter in law, from the land of her sojournment: and returned into Bethlehem, in the beginning of the barley harvest.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "call", "noemi", "beautiful", "mara", "bitter", and "almighty". 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 went together and came to..." into verse 21's "I went out full and the Lord...", 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.