Ruth 1:2
What does Ruth 1:2 mean?
A plain-English look at Ruth 1:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ruth 1:2 means
We now learn the names and origins: Elimelech, Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites from Beth-lehem-judah. Their heritage anchors them among Judah’s people, yet they cross into Moab and remain there. What began as a sojourn becomes a longer stay, reflecting how survival can turn into settlement. The verse is not a moral judgment but a sober record of how hard times shape choices. It prepares us for how deeply this family will be affected by life abroad. The naming of Naomi and her sons invites us to track their fates closely, since the story’s unfolding hope will move along the line of these very relationships.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth–lehem–judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and were there for some time.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And the name of the man <FI>is<Fi> Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites from Beth-Lehem-Judah; and they come into the fields of Moab, and are there.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752He was named Elimelech, and his wife Noemi: and his two sons, the one Mahalon, and the other Chelion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Juda. And entering into the country of Moab, they abode there.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-Judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
Context
Coming after the general setting, this verse supplies concrete identity and location, moving the narrative from a faceless family to specific persons. Their status as Ephrathites from Bethlehem will matter when they return. The note that they continued in Moab sets up the events of verses 3–5, where tragedy strikes far from home. Without this verse’s grounding, the losses and later loyalties would have less narrative weight.
v.1And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
v.2This passage
v.3And Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Micah 5:2
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
- Genesis 35:19
And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem).
- 1 Samuel 17:21
And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
- 1 Samuel 1:1
Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:
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