Ruth 4

1 Therfor Booz stiede to the yate, and sat there; and whanne he hadde seyn the kynesman passe forth, of whom the word was had, Booz seide to hym, Bowe thou a litil, and sitte here; and he clepide hym bi his name. And he turnede, and sat.

Now, Boaz, went up to the gate, and sat him down there, and lo! the kinsman, passing by, of whom Boaz had spoken, so he said—Turn aside! and sit down here, such a one! And he turned aside, and sat down.

2 Forsothe Booz took ten `men of the eldere men of the citee, and seide to hem, Sitte ye here.

Then fetched he ten men of the elders of the city, and said—Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

3 And while thei saten, Booz spak to the kynesman, Noemy, that turnede ayen fro the cuntrey of Moab, seelde the part of the feeld of oure brother Elymelech,

Then said he to the kinsman, The parcel of land that was our brother Elimelech’s, is to be disposed of by Naomi, who hath returned out of the country of Moab;

4 which thing Y wolde that thou here; and Y wolde seie to thee bifor alle `men syttynge and grettere in birthe of my puple. If thou wolt haue in possessioun the feeld bi riyt of nyy kyn, bye thou, and `haue thou in possessioun; sotheli if it displesith thee, schewe thou this same thing to me, that Y wyte what Y `owe to do; for noon is niy in kyn, outakun thee which art the formere, and outakun me which am the secunde. And he answeride, Y schal bie the feeld.

and, I, thought, I would unveil thine ear, saying—Take it over in presence of such as are here seated, and in presence of the elders of my people. If thou wilt act as kinsman, act as kinsman, but, if thou wilt not so act, only tell me—that I may know, for there is none who can set thee aside as kinsman, but, I, am after thee. And he said, I, will act as kinsman.

5 To whom Booz seide, Whanne thou hast bouyte the feeld of the `hond of the womman, thou owist `to take also Ruth of Moab, that was the wijf of the deed man, that thou reise the name of thi kynesman in his eritage.

Then said Boaz, What day thou takest over the land from the hand of Naomi, also, of Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead, dost thou take [it], to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

6 Which answeride, Y forsake the ryyt of nyy kyn; for Y owe not to do awei the eritage of my meynee; vse thou my priuelegie, which priuelegie Y knowleche me to wante gladli.

Then said the kinsman—I cannot act as kinsman for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance, —do, thou, for thyself act as kinsman in my right, for I cannot so redeem.

7 Forsothe this was the custom bi eld tyme in Israel among kynesmen, that if a man yaf his riyt to anothir man, that the grauntyng were stidefast, the man vnlaase his scho, and yaf to his kynesman; this was the witnessyng of the yift in Israel.

Now, this aforetime, [was the way] in Israel, at a redeeming, and at an exchanging, to confirm every word: A man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour, —yea, this, was the way of taking to witness, in Israel.

8 Therfor Booz seide to his kynesman, Take the scho fro thee; `which scho he vnlaside anoon fro his foot.

So the kinsman said unto Boaz, Take it over for thyself, —and he drew off his shoe.

9 And Booz seide to the grettere men in birthe and to al the puple, Ye ben witnessis to dai, that Y haue take in possessioun alle thingis that weren of Elymelech, and of Chelion, and of Maalon, bi the yifte of Noemy;

Then said Boaz to the elders, and all the people—Witnesses, are ye to-day, that I have taken over all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s, and Mahlon’s, —from the hand of Naomi:

10 and that Y haue take in to wedlok Ruth of Moab, the wijf of Maalon, that Y reise the name of the deed man in his erytage; lest his name be doon awey fro his meynee and britheren and puple. Ye, he seide, ben witnessis of this thing.

Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Mahlon, have I taken over, to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off—from among his brethren, and from the gate of his dwelling- place, —Witnesses, are ye to-day!

11 Al the puple, that was in the yate, answeride, and the grettere men in birthe answeriden, We ben witnessis; the Lord make this womman, that entrith in to thin hows, as Rachel and Lia, that bildiden the hows of Israel, that sche be ensaumple of vertu in Effrata, and haue a solempne name in Bethleem;

Then said all the people who were in the gate, and the elders—Witnesses!, —Yahweh grant the woman who is coming into thy house, to be as Rachel, and as Leah, which two of them did build the house of Israel. Do thou bravely, then, in Ephrathah, and proclaim thou a name in Bethlehem,

12 and thin hows be maad as the hows of Fares, whom Thamar childide to Judas, of the seed which the Lord schal yyue to thee of this damesel.

And let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare to Judah, —of the seed which—may Yahweh give thee, of this young woman.

13 Therfor Booz took Ruth, and took hir to wijf; and he entride to hir, and the Lord yaf to hir, that sche conseyuede, `and childide a sone.

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in unto her, —and Yahweh granted her conception, and she bare a son.

14 And wymmen seiden to Noemy, Blessid be the Lord, which `suffride not, that an eir failide to thi meynee, and his name were clepid in Israel;

Then said the women unto Naomi, Blessed, be Yahweh! who hath not let thee fail of a kinsman to-day, —and may his name, be proclaimed, in Israel;

15 and that thou haue `a man, that schal coumforte thi soule, and nursche elde age. For a child is borun of thi douytir in lawe, `which child schal loue thee, and he is myche betere to thee, than if thou haddist seuene sones.

So shall he become a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age, —for, thy daughter-in-law who loveth thee, hath borne him, even, she, who is better to thee than seven sons.

16 And Noemy puttide the child resseyued in hir bosum; and sche dide the office of a nurische, and of a berere.

So Naomi took the boy, and laid him in her bosom, and she became his nurse.

17 Forsothe wymmen neiyboris thankiden hir, and seiden, A sone is borun to Noemy, and clepide his name Obeth. This is the fadir of Ysay, fadir of Dauid.

And the women, her neighbours, gave him a name, saying, There is born a son to Naomi, —So they called his name Obed, he, was, the father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 These ben the generaciouns of Fares; Fares gendride Esrom;

These, then, are the generations of Perez: Perez, begat, Hezron;

19 Esrom gendride Aram; Aram gendride Amynadab;

And, Hezron, begat, Ram, and, Ram, begat, Amminadab;

20 Amynadab gendride Naason; Naason gendride Salmon; Salmon gendride Booz;

And, Amminadab, begat Nahshon, and, Nahshon, begat, Salmon,

21 Booz gendride Obeth;

And, Salmon, begat, Boaz, and, Boaz, begat, Obed;

22 Obeth gendride Isay; Isay gendride Dauid the kyng.

And, Obed, begat, Jesse, and, Jesse, begat, David.