Ruth 1
1 In the daies of o iuge, whanne iugis weren souereynes, hungur was maad in the lond; and a man of Bethleem of Juda yede to be a pylgrym in the cuntrei of Moab, with his wijf and twey fre sones.
There was a famine during the time when the judges ruled Israel, so a man left Bethlehem in Judah and went to live in exile in the country of Moab, along with his wife and two sons.
2 He was clepid Elymelech, and his wijf Noemy, and the twey sones, `the oon was clepid Maalon, and the tother Chelion, Effrateis of Bethleem of Juda; and thei entriden in to the cuntrey of Moab, and dwelliden there.
His name was Elimelech, and his wife's name Naomi. His sons were called Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went to the country of Moab and lived there.
3 And Elymelech, the hosebonde of Noemy, diede, and sche lefte with the sones;
However, Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 and thei token wyues of Moab, of whiche wyues oon was clepid Orpha, the tother Ruth. And the sones dwelliden there ten yeer,
The sons married Moabite women. One was called Orpah, the other was called Ruth. After about ten years,
5 and bothe dieden, that is, Maalon and Chelion; and the womman lefte, and was maad bare of twey fre sones, and hosebonde.
both Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi was left alone, without her two sons or her husband.
6 And sche roos to go with euer eithir wijf of hir sones in to hir cuntrey fro the cuntrey of Moab; for sche hadde herd, that the Lord hadde biholde his puple, and hadde youe `metis to hem.
So she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the country of Moab and return home because she had heard that the Lord had blessed his people there with food.
7 Therfor sche yede out of the place of hir pilgrymage with euer either wijf of hir sones; and now sche was set in the weie of turnyng ayen in to the lond of Juda,
She left the place where she had been living and with her two daughters-in-law set out on the road back to the land of Judah.
8 and sche seide to hem, Go ye in to `the hows of youre modir; the Lord do mercy with you, as ye diden with the deed men, and with me;
However, as they left, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you, go back to your mother's homes, and may the Lord be as kind to you as you have been to me, and to those who have died.
9 the Lord yyue to you to fynde reste in the howsis of hosebondis, whiche ye schulen take. And sche kiste hem. Whiche bigunnen to wepe with `vois reisid,
May the Lord give you a good home with another husband.” She kissed them, and they all started to cry loudly.
10 and to seie, We schulen go with thee to thi puple.
“No! We want to go back with you to your people,” they replied.
11 To whiche sche answeride, My douytris, turne ye ayen, whi comen ye with me? Y haue no more sones in my wombe, that ye moun hope hosebondis of me; my douytris of Moab, turne ye ayen, and go;
“Why do you want to go back with me?” Naomi asked. “I'm not able to have any more sons for you to marry.
12 for now Y am maad eeld, and Y am not able to boond of mariage; yhe, thouy Y myyte conseyue in this nyyt,
Go back home, my daughters, because I'm too old to marry again. Even if I were to sleep with a new husband tonight and had sons,
13 and bere sones, if ye wolen abide til thei wexen, and fillen the yeris of mariage, `ye schulen sunner be eld wymmen than ye schulen be weddid; I biseche, `nyle ye, my douytris, for youre angwische oppressith me more, and the hond of the Lord yede out ayens me.
would you wait for them to grow up? Would you decide you weren't going to marry anyone else? No. The whole situation is more bitter for me than it is for you, for the Lord has turned against me!”
14 Therfor, whanne the vois was reisid, eft thei bigunnen to wepe. Orpha kisside `the modir of hir hosebonde, and turnede ayen, and Ruth `cleuyde to `the modir of hir hosebonde.
They started crying loudly again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on tightly to Naomi.
15 To whom Noemy seide, Lo! thi kyneswomman turnede ayen to hir puple, and to hir goddis; go thou with hir.
“Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back home with her,” said Naomi.
16 And sche answeride, Be thou not `aduersarye to me, that Y forsake thee, and go awei; whidur euer thou schalt go, Y schal go, and where thou schalt dwelle, and Y schal dwelle togidere; thi puple is my puple, and thi God is my God;
But Ruth replied, “Please don't keep on telling me to leave you and go back. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.
17 what lond schal resseyue thee diynge, Y schal die ther ynne, and there Y schal take place of biriyng; God do to me these thingis, and adde these thingis, if deeth aloone schal not departe me and thee.
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me harshly if I let anything but death separate us!”
18 Therfor Noemy siy, that Ruth hadde demyde with stidefast soule to go with hir, and sche nolde be ayens hir, nether counseile ferthere turnynge ayen `to her cuntrei men.
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped telling Ruth to go home.
19 And thei yeden forth togidere, and camen in to Bethleem; and whanne thei entriden in to the citee, swift fame roos anentis alle men, and wymmen seiden, This is thilke Noemy.
So the two of them walked on until they reached Bethlehem. When they arrived there, the whole town got excited. “Is this Naomi?” the women asked.
20 To whiche sche seide, Clepe ye not me Noemy, that is, fair, but `clepe ye me Mara, that is, bittere; for Almyyti God hath fillid me greetli with bitternesse.
She said to them, “Don't call me Naomi! Call me Mara, for the Almighty has treated me very bitterly.
21 Y yede out ful, and the Lord ledde me ayen voide; whi therfor clepen ye me Noemy, whom the Lord hath `maad low, and Almyyti God hath turmentid?
I left here full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has condemned me, when the Almighty has brought disaster on me?”
22 Therfor Noemy cam with Ruth of Moab, `the wijf of hir sone, fro the lond of hir pilgrimage, and turnede ayen in to Bethleem, whanne barli was ropun first.
This is the way that Naomi returned from Moab with Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter-in-law. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
