Ruth 1
1 And it comes to pass, in [the] days [when] the ones judging judge, that there is a famine in the land, and there goes a man from Beth-Lehem-Judah to sojourn in the fields of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
In the days of one of the judges, when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem in Judah departed to sojourn in the region of the Moabites with his wife and two children.
2 And the name of the man [is] Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephraimites from Beth-Lehem-Judah; and they come into the fields of Moab, and are there.
He called himself Elimelech, and his wife Naomi, and his two sons, the one Mahlon, and the other Chilion, Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. And entering into the region of the Moabites, they stayed there.
3 And Elimelech husband of Naomi dies, and she is left, she and her two sons;
And Elimelech the husband of Naomi died; and she remained with her sons.
4 and they take to them wives, Moabitesses: the name of the first [is] Orpah, and the name of the second Ruth; and they dwell there about ten years.
They took wives from among the Moabites, of whom one was called Orpah, and the other Ruth. And they lived there ten years.
5 And they die also, both of them—Mahlon and Chilion—and the woman is left of her two children and of her husband.
And they both died, namely Mahlon and Chilion, and the woman was left alone, bereaved of her two children and her husband.
6 And she rises, she and her daughters-in-law, and turns back from the fields of Moab, for she has heard in the fields of Moab that God has looked after His people—to give to them bread.
And she arose so that she might journey to her native land, with both her daughters-in-law, from the region of the Moabites. For she had heard that the Lord had provided for his people and had given them food.
7 And she goes out from the place where she has been, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they go in the way to return to the land of Judah.
And so she departed from the place of her sojourn, with both her daughters-in-law, and having set out upon the way, she was about to return to the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi says to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return, each to the house of her mother; YHWH does with you kindness as you have done with the dead, and with me;
She said to them, “Go to the home of your mother. May the Lord deal mercifully with you, just as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9 YHWH grants to you, and you find rest each in the house of her husband”; and she kisses them, and they lift up their voice and weep.
May he grant you to find rest in the houses of the husbands, whom you will obtain by lot.” And she kissed them. They lifted up their voice, and began to weep,
10 And they say to her, “Surely with you we go back to your people.”
and to say, “We will journey with you to your people.”
11 And Naomi says, “Turn back, my daughters; why do you go with me? Are there yet to me sons in my bowels that they have been to you for husbands?
But she answered them, “Return, my daughters. Why come with me? Do I have any more sons in my womb, so that you could hope for husbands from me?
12 Turn back, my daughters, go, for I am too aged to be to a husband; though I had said, There is for me hope, also, I have been tonight to a husband, and also I have borne sons:
Return, my daughters, go forth. For I am now exhausted by old age, and not fit for the bond of marriage. Even if I were to conceive on this night, and bear sons,
13 do you wait for them until they grow up? Do you shut yourselves up for them, not to be to a husband? No, my daughters, for more bitter to me than to you, for the hand of YHWH has gone out against me.”
if you were willing to wait until they were grown and had completed the years of adolescence, you would be elderly before you could marry. Do not do so, I beg you, my daughters. For your difficulties weigh upon me greatly, and the hand of the Lord has been set against me.”
14 And they lift up their voice, and weep again, and Orpah kisses her mother-in-law, and Ruth has cleaved to her.
In response, they lifted up their voice and began to weep again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, and then turned back. Ruth clung to her mother-in-law.
15 And she says, “Behold, your sister-in-law has turned back to her people, and to her god, turn back after your sister-in-law.”
Naomi said to her, “See, your kinswoman returns to her people, and to her gods. Hurry after her.”
16 And Ruth says, “Do not urge me to leave you—to turn back from after you; for to where you go I go, and where you lodge I lodge; your people [is] my people, and your God my God.
She answered, “Do not be against me, as if I would abandon you and go away; for wherever you will go, I will go, and where you will stay, I also will stay with you. Your people are my people, and your God is my God.
17 Where you die I die, and there I am buried; thus does YHWH to me, and thus He adds—for death itself parts between me and you.”
Whichever land will receive you dying, in the same I will die, and there I will have the place of my burial. May God cause these things to happen to me, and add more also, if anything except death alone should separate you and I.”
18 And she sees that she is strengthening herself to go with her, and she ceases to speak to her;
Therefore, Naomi saw that Ruth, being firmly resolved in her soul, was determined to go with her, and that she was unwilling to be dissuaded, and that nothing further could convince her to return to her own.
19 and the two of them go until their coming to Beth-Lehem; and it comes to pass at their coming to Beth-Lehem, that all the city is moved at them, and they say, “Is this Naomi?”
And so they set out together, and they came to Bethlehem. When they had entered the city, the news quickly spread among them all. And the women said, “This is that Naomi.”
20 And she says to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly to me,
But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi (that is, beautiful), but call me Mara (that is, bitter). For the Almighty has greatly filled me with bitterness.
21 I went out full, and YHWH has brought me back empty, why do you call me Naomi, and YHWH has testified against me, and the Almighty has done evil to me?”
I went out full and the Lord led me back empty. So then, why call me Naomi, whom the Lord has humbled and the Almighty has afflicted?”
22 And Naomi turns back, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who has turned back from the fields of Moab, and they have come to Beth-Lehem at the commencement of barley-harvest.
Therefore, Naomi went with Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, from the land of her sojourn, and returned to Bethlehem, at the time of the first reaping of the barley.
