< Ruth 2 >

1 Forsothe a myyti man and a man `of grete richessis, `Booz bi name, `was kynysman of Elymelech.
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth of Moab seide to hir modir in lawe, If thou comaundist, Y schal go in to the feeld, and Y schal gadere eeris of corn that fleen the hondis of reperis, where euer Y schal fynde grace of an hosebonde man merciful in me. To whom sche answeride, Go, my douyter.
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.
3 Therfor `sche yede, and gaderide eeris of corn after the backis of reperis. Forsothe it bifelde, that `thilke feeld hadde a lord, Booz bi name, that was of the kynrede of Elymelech.
So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4 And lo! he cam fro Bethleem. And he seide to the reperis, The Lord be with you. Whiche answeriden to hym, The Lord blesse thee.
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
5 And Booz seide to the yong man that was souereyn to the reperis, Who is this damysel?
And Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 Whiche answeride, This is the womman of Moab, that cam with Noemy fro the cuntrey of Moab; and sche preiede,
The foreman answered, “She is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
7 that sche schulde gedere eeris of corn leeuynge bihynde, and sue the `steppis of reperis; and fro the morewtid til now sche stondith in the feeld, and sotheli nethir at a moment sche turnede ayen hoom.
She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.”
8 And Booz seide to Ruth, Douytir, here thou; go thou not in to anothir feelde to gadere, nether go awei fro this place, but be thou ioyned to my dameselis,
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go and glean in another field, and do not go away from this place, but stay here close to my servant girls.
9 and sue thou where thei repen; for Y comaundide to my children, that `no man be diseseful to thee; but also if thou thirstist, go to the fardels, and drynke `watris, of whiche my children drynken.
Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting, and follow along after these girls. Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”
10 And sche felde on hir face, and worschipide on the erthe; and seide to hym, Wherof is this to me, that Y schulde fynde grace bifor thin iyen, that thou woldist knowe me a straunge womman?
At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”
11 To whom he answeride, Alle thingis ben teld to me, whiche thou didist to thi modir in lawe after the deeth of thin hosebonde, and that thou hast forsake thi fadir and modir, and the lond `in which thou were borun, and hast come to a puple, whom thou `knowist not bifore.
Boaz replied, “I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you did not know before.
12 The Lord yelde to thee for thi werk, and resseyue thou ful mede of the Lord God of Israel, to whom thou camest, and vndir whose wengis thou fleddist.
May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
13 And sche seide, My lord, Y haue founde grace bifor thin iyen, which hast coumfortid me, and hast spoke to the herte of thin handmaide, which am not lijk oon of thi damesels.
“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
14 And Booz seide to hir, Whanne the our of etyng is, come thou hidur, and ete breed, and wete thi mussel in vynegre. Therfor sche sat at the `side of reperis; and he dresside to hir potage, and sche eet, and was fillid; and sche took the relifs.
At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
15 And sche roos fro thennus to gadere eeris of corn bi custom. Forsothe Booz comaundide to hise children, and seide, Also if sche wole repe with you,
When Ruth got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, do not insult her.
16 forbede ye not hir, and also `of youre handfuls caste ye forth of purpos, and suffre ye to abide, that sche gadere with out schame; and no man repreue hir gaderynge.
Rather, pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.”
17 Therfor sche gaderide in the feeld `til to euentid; and sche beet with a yerde, and schook out tho thingis that sche hadde gaderid; and sche foond of barly as the mesure of ephi, that is, thre buschels.
So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was about an ephah of barley.
18 Which sche bar, and turnede ayen in to the citee, and schewide to hir modir in lawe; ferthermore sche brouyte forth, `and yaf to hir the relifs of hir mete, with which mete sche was fillid.
She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out what she had saved from her meal and gave it to Naomi.
19 And the modir in lawe seide to hir, Where `gaderidist thou to dai, and where `didist thou werk? Blessid be he, that hadde mercy on thee. And sche telde to hir, at whom sche wrouyte; and sche seide the name `of the man, that he was clepid Booz.
Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.” So she told her mother-in-law where she had worked. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 To whom Noemy answeride, Blessid be he of the Lord, for he kepte also to deed men the same grace, which he yaf to the quike. And eft sche seide, He is oure kynysman.
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
21 And Ruth seide, Also he comaundide this to me, that so longe Y schulde be ioyned to hise reperis, til alle the cornes weren repid.
Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished gathering all my harvest.’”
22 To whom hir modir in lawe seide, My douyter, it is betere that thou go `out to repe with hise damysels, lest in another feeld ony man ayenstonde thee.
And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”
23 `Therfor sche was ioyned to the damesels of Booz; and so longe sche rap with hem, til bothe barli and wheete weren closid in the bernys.
So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

< Ruth 2 >