¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.^(A) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred^(B) because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,^[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,^[b] because the Almighty^[c](C) has made my life very bitter.^{(D) 21} I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.^(E) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted^[d] me;^(F) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,^(G) her daughter-in-law,^(H) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest^(I) was beginning.^(J)

¹⁹ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will^(A) should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.