19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrivalJ,l and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,”K she answered, “for the Almightym has made me very bitter.n 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.o Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has opposedL me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.p