Ruth 1
1 And it cometh to pass, in the days of the judging of the judges, that there is a famine in the land, and there goeth a man from Beth-Lehem-Judah to sojourn in the fields of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
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 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, Ephrathites from Beth-Lehem-Judah; and they come into the fields of Moab, and are 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 Elimelech husband of Naomi dieth, and she is left, she and her two sons;
However, Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 and they take to them wives, Moabitesses: the name of the one [is] Orpah, and the name of the second Ruth; and they dwell there about ten years.
The sons married Moabite women. One was called Orpah, the other was called Ruth. After about 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.
both Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi was left alone, without her two sons or her husband.
6 And she riseth, she and her daughters-in-law, and turneth back from the fields of Moab, for she hath heard in the fields of Moab that God hath looked after His people, — to give to them bread.
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 And she goeth out from the place where she hath been, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they go in the way to turn back unto the land of Judah.
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 Naomi saith to her two daughters-in-law, 'Go, turn back, each to the house of her mother; Jehovah doth with you kindness as ye have done with the dead, 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 Jehovah doth grant to you, and find ye rest each in the house of her husband;' and she kisseth them, and they lift up their voice and weep.
May the Lord give you a good home with another husband.” She kissed them, and they all started to cry loudly.
10 And they say to her, 'Surely with thee we go back to thy people.'
“No! We want to go back with you to your people,” they replied.
11 And Naomi saith, 'Turn back, my daughters; why do ye go with me? are there yet to me sons in my bowels that they have been to you for husbands?
“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 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 to-night to a husband, and also I have borne sons:
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 for them do ye wait till that they grow up? for them do ye shut yourselves up, not to be to a husband? nay, my daughters, for more bitter to me than to you, for the hand of Jehovah hath gone out against 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 And they lift up their voice, and weep again, and Orpah kisseth her mother-in-law, and Ruth hath cleaved to her.
They started crying loudly again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on tightly to Naomi.
15 And she saith, 'Lo, thy sister-in-law hath turned back unto her people, and unto her god, turn thou back after thy sister-in-law.'
“Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back home with her,” said Naomi.
16 And Ruth saith, 'Urge me not to leave thee — to turn back from after thee; for whither thou goest I go, and where thou lodgest I lodge; thy people [is] my people, and thy God 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 Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add — for death itself doth part between 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 And she seeth that she is strengthening herself to go with her, and she ceaseth to speak unto her;
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped telling Ruth to go home.
19 and they go both of them till their coming in to Beth-Lehem; and it cometh to pass at their coming in to Beth-Lehem, that all the city is moved at them, and they say, 'Is this Naomi?'
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 And she saith unto them, 'Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly to me,
She said to them, “Don't call me Naomi! Call me Mara, for the Almighty has treated me very bitterly.
21 I went out full, and empty hath Jehovah brought me back, why do ye call me Naomi, and Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath done evil to me?'
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 And Naomi turneth back, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who hath turned back from the fields of Moab, and they have come in to Beth-Lehem at the commencement of barley-harvest.
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.
