Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons,
Parallel translations
- WEB Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
- KJV And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
- NKJV Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
- NASB Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
- NLT Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi a widow with only her two sons. The first of several losses begins Naomi's descent into emptiness.
Overview
The death of the household's head leaves Naomi vulnerable in a foreign land. In Israel's social order a woman's security came largely through husband and sons, so this loss is grave. The narrator records it without explanation, inviting the reader to trust that God remains at work even when life is marked by grief and apparent abandonment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ps 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
- 2 Kgs 4:1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”
- Heb 12:6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Heb 12:10–11Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
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Christ at the center
Boaz the kinsman-redeemer who buys back the destitute and takes a bride foreshadows Christ, our Redeemer who pays the price to make a people his own; and from Ruth's line comes David, and David's greater Son.
How Ruth 1:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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