Ruth 1:20
“And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Naomi asks to be called Mara, bitter, saying the Almighty has dealt bitterly with her.
What Does Ruth 1:20 Mean?
Naomi answers the town's wonder by renaming herself. Do not call me Naomi, pleasant, she says, but Mara, bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Her name no longer fits her life. She speaks plainly of her pain and lays it before God, naming Him as the Almighty, the One whose power has ordered even her suffering.
This is unguarded lament, and Scripture does not silence it. Naomi feels her losses keenly and refuses to pretend otherwise, yet even her bitterness is God-directed; she does not abandon faith, she brings her ache to the Almighty. There is honesty here that comforts every grieving believer: one may feel utterly emptied and still hold on to God. What Naomi cannot yet see is that the Almighty who has dealt so bitterly is the same God preparing sweetness she would never have dared to ask for. The name Mara will not be her last word.
In the Original Language
Mara (מָרָא), 'bitter' — from the root for bitterness; Naomi recasts her name to match her grief, a play on Naomi, 'pleasant.'