Ruth 1 · Verse 21

Ruth 1:21

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, King James Version

Ruth 1:21 in other translations

BSBI went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.”
WEBI went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
ASVI went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
YLTI went out full, and empty hath Jehovah brought me back, why do ye call me Naomi, and Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath done evil to me?'
DARBYI went out full, and Jehovah has brought me home again empty. Why do ye call me Naomi, seeing Jehovah has brought me low, and the Almighty has afflicted me?
BBEI went out full, and the Lord has sent me back again with nothing; why do you give me the name Naomi, seeing that the Lord has given witness against me, and the Ruler of all has sent sorrow on me?
WebsterI 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?

What does Ruth 1:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ruth 1:19-22

Ru 1:19-22. They Come to Beth-lehem. 19-22. all the city was moved about them--The present condition of Naomi, a forlorn and desolate widow, presented so painful a contrast to the flourishing state of prosperity and domestic bliss in which she had been at her departure.

Read the full comment on Ruth 1:19-22 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 I went out full - Having a husband and two sons. The Lord hath brought me home again empty - Having lost all three by death. It is also likely that Elimelech took considerable property with him into the land of Moab; for as he fled from the face of the famine, he would naturally take his property with him; and on this Naomi subsisted till her return to Bethlehem, which she might not have thought of till all was spent.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ruth 1:19-22

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. Afflictions will make great and surprising changes in a little time. May God, by his grace, fit us for all such changes, especially the great change!, Naomi signifies "pleasant," or "amiable;" Mara, "bitter," or "bitterness." She was now a woman of a sorrowful spirit. She had come home empty, poor, a widow and childless. But there is a fulness for believers of which they never can…

Read the full comment on Ruth 1:19-22 →

Ruth 1:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֲנִי֙'a.NiIH589
מְלֵאָ֣הme.le.'AhfullH4392
הָלַ֔כְתִּיha.Lakh.tiI wentH1980
וְרֵיקָ֖םve.rei.Kamand emptyH7387
הֱשִׁיבַ֣נִיhe.shi.Va.nihe has brought back meH7725
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לָ֣מָּהLa.mah<to> why?H4100
תִקְרֶ֤אנָהtik.Re.nahdo you callH7121
לִי֙li<to> <the> me
נָעֳמִ֔יno.'o.MiNaomiH5281
וַֽיהוָה֙va.Yah.wehand YahwehH3068
עָ֣נָה'A.nahhe has testifiedH6030
בִ֔יViagainst <the> me
וְשַׁדַּ֖יve.sha.Daiand [the] AlmightyH7706
הֵ֥רַֽעHe.ra'he has done harmH7489
לִֽי\׃Lito <the> me

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ruth 1:21

  • 1 Samuel 2:7-8

    The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

  • Job 1:21

    And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

  • Job 16:8

    And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

  • Job 13:26

    For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

  • Job 10:17

    Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
and the.
1Sa 2:7,8; Job 1:21
the Lord.
Job 10:17; 13:26; 16:8; Mal 3:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ruth 1:20

    And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

  • Ruth 1:21

    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 1:22

    So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth–lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

Read all of Ruth 1

Ruth 1:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Yo me fuí llena, mas vacía me ha vuelto Jehová. ¿Por qué me llamaréis Noemi, ya que Jehová ha dado testimonio contra mí, y el Todopoderoso me ha afligido?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Je m’en allai comblée, et l’ Éternel me ramène à vide. Pourquoi m’appelez-vous Naomi, quand l’ Éternel m’a abattue, et que le Tout-puissant m’a affligée?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Voll bin ich gegangen, und leer hat mich Jehova zurückkehren lassen. Warum nennet ihr mich Noomi, da Jehova gegen mich gezeugt, und der Allmächtige mir Übles getan hat?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Egressa sum plena, et vacuam reduxit me Dominus. Cur ergo vocatis me Noëmi, quam Dominus humiliavit, et afflixit Omnipotens?