Ruth 1 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Long ago, during the time the judges [1] ruled, there was a bad time when there was not enough food to eat. A man named Elimelech left Bethlehem, Judah. He, his wife and his two sons moved to the hill country of Moab. [2]

² The man’s wife was named Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon and Kilion. These people were from the Ephrathah family of Bethlehem, Judah. The family traveled to the hill country of Moab and stayed there.

³ Later, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died. So only Naomi and her two sons were left.

⁴ Her sons married women from the country of Moab. One wife’s name was Orpah, and the other wife’s name was Ruth. They lived in Moab about ten years,

⁵ and Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left alone without her husband or her two sons.

⁶ While Naomi was in the hill country of Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had given food to his people {in Judah}. So Naomi decided to leave the hill country of Moab and go back home. Her daughters-in-law also decided to go with her.

⁷ They left the place where they had been living and started walking back to the land of Judah.

⁸ Then Naomi told her daughters-in-law, “Each of you should go back home to your mother. You have been very kind to me and my dead sons. So I pray the Lord will be just as kind to you.

⁹ I pray that he helps each of you to find a husband and a nice home.” Naomi kissed her daughters-in-law, and they all started crying.

¹⁰ Then the daughters said, “But we want to come with you and go to your family.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “No, daughters, go back to your own homes. Why should you go with me? {I cannot help you.} I don’t have any more sons in me to be your husbands.

¹² Go back home! I am too old to have a new husband. Even if I thought I could be married again, I could not help you. If I became pregnant tonight and had two sons, {it would not help}.

¹³ You would have to wait until they grew to become men before you could marry them. I can’t make you wait that long for husbands. That would make me very sad! {And I am already sad enough}—the Lord has done many things to me!”

¹⁴ So the women cried very much again. Then Orpah kissed Naomi {and left}. But Ruth hugged her {and stayed}.

¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her own people and her own gods. So you should do the same thing.”

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you! Don’t force me to go back to my own people. Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you sleep, I will sleep. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.

¹⁷ Where you die, I will die. And that is where I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me if I do not keep this promise: Only death will separate us.” [3]

¹⁸ Naomi saw that Ruth wanted very much to go with her. So Naomi stopped arguing with her.

¹⁹ Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to the town of Bethlehem. When the two women entered Bethlehem, all the people were very excited. They said, “Is this Naomi?”

²⁰ But Naomi told the people, “Don’t call me Naomi, [4] call me Marah. [5] Use this name because {God} All-Powerful has made my life very sad.

²¹ I had everything I wanted when I left. But now, the Lord brings me home with nothing. The Lord has made me sad, so why should you call me ‘Happy’? [6] {God} All-Powerful has given much trouble to me.”

²² So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth (the woman from Moab) came back from the hill country of Moab. These two women came to Bethlehem, Judah at the beginning of the barley harvest.