And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Parallel translations
- WEB Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband.
- BSB both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.
- ESV and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
- NKJV Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
- NASB Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
- NLT both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Both sons die, leaving Naomi stripped of husband and children. Her emptiness is now complete, setting up God's reversal through Ruth.
Overview
The repeated losses leave Naomi bereft of every male provider, an utterly desperate situation in the ancient world. The narrator lingers on her bereavement to make her later restoration shine more brightly. This lowest point prepares the way for God's hidden providence, which will turn a widow's grief into the joy of redemption and the continuation of the messianic line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Deut 32:39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
- Ps 89:30–32If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
- Isa 49:21Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
- Jer 2:19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Matt 22:25–27Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
- Luke 7:12Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 1:5 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.