14 Again they wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her.
15 So Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law back home!”
16 But Ruth replied, “Stop urging me to abandon you!For wherever you go, I will go.Wherever you live, I will live.Your people will become my people,and your God will become my God.
17 Wherever you die, I will die – and there I will be buried.May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise!Only death will be able to separate me from you!”
18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her.
19 So the two of them journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem.When they enteredBethlehem, the whole village was excited about their arrival. The women of the village said, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 But she replied to them, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! Call me ‘Mara’ because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly.