Ruth 1:22
What does Ruth 1:22 mean?
A plain-English look at Ruth 1:22 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ruth 1:22 means
The chapter closes with Naomi’s return, and with her, “Ruth the Moabitess,” emphasizing her foreign identity. They arrive in Beth-lehem at the beginning of barley harvest—a providential detail. Harvest means food, work, and the lawful provision of gleaning for the vulnerable. It is the first quiet ray of hope after so much loss. Ruth’s presence in Bethlehem will soon lead to encounters that God uses to rebuild Naomi’s life and extend mercy to Israel. From this season will come a line leading to David, and, as the New Testament later shows, to Christ—born in Bethlehem—God’s greater provision for a world in famine of soul.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
KJV
King James Version · 1611So 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949So Naomi came back out of the country of Moab, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her; and they came to Beth-lehem in the first days of the grain-cutting.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And Naomi turneth back, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who hath turned back from the fields of Moab, and they have come in to Beth-Lehem at the commencement of barley-harvest.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752So Noemi came with Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter in law, from the land of her sojournment: and returned into Bethlehem, in the beginning of the barley harvest.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the fields of Moab; and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of the barley-harvest.
Context
Following Naomi’s lament (verses 20–21), this verse anchors the women in place and time: Bethlehem, barley harvest. The mention of Ruth’s Moabite identity keeps the theme of outsider inclusion in view. The harvest timing foreshadows chapter 2’s gleaning and Boaz’s introduction. It gently shifts the narrative from emptiness to the first hints of God’s restoring kindness.
v.21I 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?
v.22This passage
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Samuel 21:9
and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before Jehovah, and they fell all seven together. And they were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.
- Ruth 2:23
So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
- Exodus 9:31
And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
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