Then bothMahlonand Chilionalsodied,and the womanwas bereftof her twochildrenand her husband.
"Then you will sayin your heart,'Whohas begottenthesefor me, Since I have beenbereavedof my childrenAnd am barren,an exileand a wanderer?And whohas rearedthese?Behold,I was leftalone;From wheredid thesecome?'"
"Your own wickednesswill correctyou, And your apostasieswill reproveyou; Knowtherefore and seethat it is eviland bitterFor you to forsakethe LORDyour God,And the dreadof Me is not in you," declaresthe LordGODof hosts.
Nowas He approachedthe gateof the city,a deadman was being carriedout, the onlysonof his mother,and she was a widow;and a sizeablecrowdfrom the citywas with her.
Seenowthat I, I am He, And thereis nogodbesidesMe; It is I who putto deathand givelife.I have woundedand it is I who heal,And thereis noonewho can deliverfrom My hand.
The nameof the man[was] Elimelech,and the nameof his wife,Naomi;and the namesof his twosons[were] Mahlonand Chilion,Ephrathitesof Bethlehemin Judah.Now they enteredthe landof Moaband remainedthere.
They tookfor themselvesMoabitewomen[as] wives;the nameof the onewas Orpahand the nameof the otherRuth.And they livedthereabout tenyears.
Then she arosewith her daughters-in-lawthat she might returnfrom the landof Moab,for she had heardin the landof Moabthat the LORDhad visitedHis peoplein givingthem food.
