Ruth 1
1 And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land: and there went a certain man of Beth-lechem-judah to sojourn in the fields of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
During the time before kings ruled Israel, (there was a famine/the people there had nothing to eat). There was a man who lived there whose name was Elimelech. His wife’s name was Naomi, and his sons’ names were Mahlon and Chilion. They were all from Bethlehem [town], from the Ephrath [clan] in Judah [region].
2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Na'omi, and the name of his two sons Machlon and Kilyon, Ephrathites of Beth-lechem-judah. And they came into the fields of Moab, and remained there.
Because of the famine, they left Bethlehem and went east to [live for a while in] Moab [region].
3 Thereupon died Elimelech Na'omi's husband; and she was left, with her two sons.
While they were there, Elimelech died, and Naomi had only her two sons with her.
4 And they took themselves wives of the women of Moab; the name of one was 'Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years.
They married women from Moab. One of them was named Orpah, and the other one was named Ruth. But after they had lived in that area for about ten years,
5 And then died also both of these, Machlon and Kilyon, and the woman was left [deprived] of her two children and her husband.
Mahlon and Chilion died. So then Naomi had no husband and no sons.
6 Then did she arise with her daughters-in-law, and returned homeward from the fields of Moab; for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had thought of his people in giving them bread.
One day while Naomi was in Moab, she heard someone say that Yahweh had helped his people in Israel and that now there was plenty of food to eat. So she prepared to return [to Bethlehem].
7 Therefore she went forth out of the place where she had been, and her two daughters-in-law [were] with her; and they went on their way to return unto the land of Judah.
She left the place where she had been living and started to walk [with her daughters-in-law] along the road back to Judah.
8 Then said Na'omi unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each one to her mother's house: may the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
Then as the three of them were walking, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you should turn around and go back to your mother’s home. You treated [your husbands] kindly [before] they died, and you have treated me kindly.
9 May the Lord grant unto you that ye may find rest, each one in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
Now I desire that Yahweh will enable each of you to have another husband in whose home you will [feel] secure.” Then she kissed both of them, and they cried aloud.
10 And they said unto her, [No, ] for truly we will return with thee unto thy people.
They each said, “No, we want to go with you as you return to your relatives.”
11 Then said Na'omi, Return back, my daughters; why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may become your husbands?
But Naomi said, “No, my daughters, return home. (It will not do any good for you to come with me!/What good will it do for you to come with me?) [RHQ] Do you think I will get married again and have more sons who could become your husbands?
12 Return back, my daughters, go; for I am too old to become [the wife] of any man; yea, if I were even to think, I have hope; should I even obtain this night a husband, and should also bear sons:
Even if I thought I could have another husband, and even if I got married today and became pregnant [EUP] tonight and later gave birth to sons,
13 Would ye wait in hopes for them till they were grown? would ye debar yourselves for them so as not to become the wives of any man? not so, my daughters; for I feel much more bitter pain than you; because the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
would you remain single/unmarried until they grew up [and became old enough] for you to marry? No, my daughters, [you would not do that]. Your situations are bad [because your husbands have died, but it is possible that you will each marry again]. My situation is much worse, because Yahweh [SYN] has opposed me, [and now I am too old to get married again].”
14 And they lifted up their voice and wept a long time; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth cleaved unto her.
Then Ruth and Orpah cried again [because of what Naomi said]. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, [and left], but Ruth clung to Naomi.
15 And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is returned back unto her people, and unto her gods; return thou after thy sister-in-law.
Naomi said to her, “Look! Your sister-in-law is going back to her relatives and to her gods! Go back with her!”
16 But Ruth said, Urge me not to leave thee, to return from following thee; for whither thou goest, will I go; and where thou lodgest, will I lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
But Ruth replied, “No! Don’t urge me to leave you! I [want to] go with you. Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your relatives will be my relatives, and the God you [worship] will be the God I [worship].
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; may the Lord do so to me, and may he so continue, if aught but death shall part me from thee.
Where you die, I will die. Where you are buried, I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me severely if I separate from you. I will be separated from you only [when one of us] dies.”
18 When she thus saw that she was persisting to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.
When Naomi realized that Ruth was very determined to go with her, she stopped urging her [to return home].
19 So these two went until they came to Beth-lechem. And it came to pass, when they entered Beth-lechem, that all the city was in commotion about them, and people said, Is this Na'omi?
So the two women continued walking until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived there, everyone in town was excited [to see] them. The women [of the town] exclaimed, “(Can this be Naomi?/It is difficult to believe that this is Naomi!)” [RHQ]
20 And she said unto them, Call me not Na'omi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
Naomi said to them, “Don’t call me Naomi, [which means ‘pleasant’]. Instead, call me Mara, [which means ‘bitter’], because God Almighty has made my life very unpleasant.
21 I went out full, but empty hath the Lord brought me home again; why then will ye call me Na'omi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath sent me affliction?
When I left here, I [felt] rich, [because I had a family]. But Yahweh has brought me back here and now I [feel] poor, [because I have no family]. Do not call me Naomi [RHQ]. [I feel as though] Yahweh has spoken against (OR, afflicted) me. Almighty [God] has caused me to experience a great tragedy.”
22 So did Na'omi return, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who had returned out of the fields of Moab; and they came to Beth-lechem at the beginning of the barley-harvest.
That [summarizes the account] of Naomi returning home along with her daughter-in-law Ruth, the woman from Moab. And [it happened that] when they arrived in Bethlehem, the barley [grain] harvest was just beginning.
