Ruth 1:21

21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me and the Almighty hath afflicted me?"

Ruth 1:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 1:21

I went out full
Of my husband and children, as the Targum; of children and riches, as Aben Ezra and Jarchi; wherefore some Jewish writers blame her and her husband for going abroad at such a time, and ascribe it to a covetous disposition, and an unwillingness to relieve the poor that came to them in their distress, and therefore got out of the way of them, on account of which they were punished, so Jarchi on ( Ruth 1:1 ) , see ( Judges 2:15 ) but this is said without any just cause or reason that appears:

and the Lord hath brought me home again empty:
deprived of her husband, children, and substance; she acknowledges the hand of God in it, and seems not to murmur at it, but to submit to it quietly, and bear it patiently:

why then call ye me Naomi;
when there is nothing pleasant and agreeable in me, nor in my circumstances:

seeing the Almighty hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath
afflicted me?
had bore witness that that was not a name suitable for her; or that she had sinned, and had not done what was well pleasing in his sight, as appeared by his afflicting her; she seemed therefore to be humbled under a sense of sin, and to consider afflictions as coming from the Lord on account of it, and submitted to his sovereign will; the affliction she means was the loss of her husband, children, and substance; see ( Job 10:17 ) ( 16:8 ) .

Ruth 1:21 In-Context

19 So the two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved concerning them; and they said, "Is this Naomi?"
20 And she said unto them, "Call me not Naomi [that is, Pleasant]. Call me Mara [that is, Bitter], for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me and the Almighty hath afflicted me?"
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned out of the country of Moab; and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.