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.
It happened in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to the country of Moab with his wife and his 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.
The name of the man was Elimelek, and the name of his wife was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion, who were Ephrathites of Bethlehem of Judah. They arrived at the country of Moab and lived there.
3 And Elymelech, the hosebonde of Noemy, diede, and sche lefte with the sones;
Then Elimelek, 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,
These sons took wives from the women of Moab; the name of one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there for 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.
Then both Mahlon and Kilion died, leaving Naomi without her husband and without her two children.
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.
Then Naomi decided to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law and return to Judah because she had heard in the region of Moab that Yahweh had helped his people in need and had given them 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,
So she left the place where she had been with her two daughters-in-law, and they walked down the road to return 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;
Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return, each of you, to your mother's house. May Yahweh show kindness toward you, as you have shown kindness toward the dead and toward me.
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 grant you that you find rest, each of you in the house of another husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and cried.
10 and to seie, We schulen go with thee to thi puple.
They said to her, “No! We will return with you to your people.”
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;
But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters! Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb for you, so that they may become your husbands?
12 for now Y am maad eeld, and Y am not able to boond of mariage; yhe, thouy Y myyte conseyue in this nyyt,
Turn back, my daughters, go your own way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said, 'I hope I get a husband tonight,' and then give birth to 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 therefore wait until they were grown? Would you choose not to marry a husband? No, my daughters! It is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of Yahweh has gone out 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.
Then her daughters-in-law lifted up their voices and cried again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell, but Ruth held on to her.
15 To whom Noemy seide, Lo! thi kyneswomman turnede ayen to hir puple, and to hir goddis; go thou with hir.
Naomi said, “Listen, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Go back with your sister-in-law.”
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 said, “Do not make me go away from you, for where you go, I will go; where you stay, I will stay; your people will be my people, and 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 Yahweh punish me, and even more, if anything but death ever separates 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 arguing with her.
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 traveled until they came to the town of Bethlehem. It happened that when they arrived in Bethlehem, the entire town was very excited about them. The women said, “Is this Naomi?”
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.
But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi. Call me Bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
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 went out full, but Yahweh has brought me home again empty. So why do you call me Naomi, seeing Yahweh has condemned me, that the Almighty has afflicted 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.
So Naomi and Ruth the Moabite woman, her daughter-in-law, returned from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
