Ruth 1:20 (LSB)

Passage

She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

Nearby Context

Ruth 1:18 So she saw that she was determined to go with her, and she said no more to her.

Ruth 1:19 Then they both went until they came to Bethlehem. Now it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

Ruth 1:20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

Ruth 1:21 I went out full, but Yahweh has caused me to return empty. Why do you call me Naomi? Yahweh has answered against me, and the Almighty has brought calamity against me.”

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "call", "naomi", "mara", "almighty", "dealt", and "very". 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 "Then they both went until they came..." into verse 21's "I went out full but Yahweh has...", 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.