Ruth 1 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Back when the tribal leaders ran things in Israel, a famine hit the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah took his wife and two sons and moved to the country of Moab to find food.

The man's name was Elimelek, his wife was Naomi, and their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They arrived in Moab and settled there.

Then Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died. She was left with just her two sons.

The sons married Moabite women — one named Orpah, the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years.

Then both Mahlon and Kilion also died. Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.

While in Moab, Naomi heard that Yahweh had turned his attention to his people and given them food again. So she got ready to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law.

She left the place where she'd been living, with her two daughters-in-law, and they started on the road back to Judah.

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, both of you — go home to your mothers. May Yahweh show you the same loyal love you've shown to your dead husbands and to me."

"May Yahweh give each of you rest and security in the home of a new husband." She kissed them, and they all broke down crying.

They said to her, "No — we're going back with you, to your people."

But Naomi said, "Go back, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Do I have more sons in my womb who could become your husbands?"

"Go back, my daughters, go on your way. I'm too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me — even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons —"

"would you really wait for them to grow up? Would you really stay unmarried for that long? No, my daughters. My life has become far more bitter than yours, because Yahweh's own hand has gone out against me."

They cried again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on to her and wouldn't let go.

Naomi said, "Look — your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go with her."

But Ruth said, "Don't ask me to leave you or to stop following you. Wherever you go, I'll go. Wherever you live, I'll live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."

"Where you die, I'll die — and that's where I'll be buried. May Yahweh punish me, and then some, if anything but death separates us."

When Naomi saw that Ruth had completely made up her mind to go with her, she stopped arguing.

So the two of them traveled until they reached Bethlehem. When they arrived, the whole town buzzed with excitement. The women said, "Can this really be Naomi?"

She told them, "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life incredibly bitter."

"I left here full, and Yahweh has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? Yahweh has testified against me. The Almighty has brought disaster on me."

That's how Naomi came back from Moab, with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite. They arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was beginning.