< URuthe 2 >

1 Njalo uNawomi wayelesihlobo somkakhe, umuntu oliqhawe onothileyo owosendo lukaElimeleki, lebizo lakhe lalinguBhowazi.
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side whose name was Boaz. He was a rich and influential man from the family of Elimelech.
2 URuthe umMowabikazi wasesithi kuNawomi: Ake ngiye emasimini, ngiyekhothoza okwezikhwebu ngemva kwalowo engizathola umusa emehlweni akhe. Wasesithi kuye: Hamba, ndodakazi yami.
Soon after Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the fields and pick up grain that's been left behind—if I can find someone will give me permission.” “Yes, go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.
3 Wasehamba wafika wakhothoza ensimini ngemva kwabavuni. Waqabuka efika kungxenye yensimu kaBhowazi owayengowosendo lukaElimeleki.
So she went and picked up grain the reapers had left behind. She happened to be working in a field that belonged to Boaz, a relative of Elimelech.
4 Khangela-ke, uBhowazi wafika evela eBhethelehema, wasesithi kubavuni: INkosi ibe lani. Basebesithi kuye: INkosi ikubusise.
Later on Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, “The Lord bless you!”
5 UBhowazi wasesithi encekwini yakhe eyayibekwe phezu kwabavuni: Le yintombi kabani?
Then Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Who is this young woman related to?”
6 Inceku eyayibekwe phezu kwabavuni yasiphendula yathi: Yintombi umMowabikazi eyabuya loNawomi evela elizweni lakoMowabi.
“The young woman is a Moabite who came back with Naomi from Moab,” the servant replied.
7 Yasisithi: Ake ngikhothoze ngibuthe phakathi kwezithungo ngemva kwabavuni. Ngakho ifikile, iqhubekile kusukela ekuseni kuze kube khathesi; lokuhlala kwayo endlini kuncinyane.
“She asked me, ‘Please may I have permission to pick up grain behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she's been working here from morning until now, except for a brief rest in the shelter.”
8 UBhowazi wasesithi kuRuthe: Kawuzwa yini, ndodakazi yami? Ungayikhothoza kwenye insimu, futhi ungedluli usuke lapha, kodwa unamathele lapha emantombazaneni ami.
Boaz went and spoke to Ruth. “Listen to me, my daughter,” he told her. “Don't leave to go and pick up grain in someone else's field. Stay close to my women.
9 Amehlo akho kawabe sensimini ayivunayo, uwalandele. Angithi ngiwalayile amajaha ukuthi angakuthinti. Nxa usuwomile uye ezimbizeni, unathe kulokhu amajaha akukhileyo.
Pay attention to what part of the field the men are reaping and follow the women. I've told the men not to bother you. When you get thirsty, go and have a drink from the water jars the servants have filled.”
10 Khona wathi mbo ngobuso bakhe wakhothamela emhlabathini, wathi kuye: Ngitholelani umusa emehlweni akho ukuthi unginanze lokhu ngingowezizweni?
She bowed down with her face to the ground. “Why are you being so kind to me or even notice me, seeing I'm a foreigner?” she asked him.
11 UBhowazi wasephendula wathi kuye: Kutshengisiwe lokutshengiswa kimi konke owakwenzela unyokozala emva kokufa kwendoda yakho, ukuthi utshiye uyihlo lonyoko lelizwe lokuzalwa kwakho, weza ebantwini owawungabazi ngaphambili.
“I've heard about all you've done for your mother-in-law since your husband died,” Boaz replied. “And also how you left your father and mother, and the land of your birth, to come and live among people you didn't know.
12 INkosi kayiwuvuze umsebenzi wakho, sengathi umvuzo wakho opheleleyo kawuvele eNkosini uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli, oze ngaphansi kwempiko zayo ukuphephela.
May the Lord fully reward you for all you've done—the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you've come for protection.
13 Wasesithi: Ake ngithole umusa emehlweni akho, nkosi yami, ngoba ungiduduzile, njalo ngoba ukhulume enhliziyweni yencekukazi yakho, lanxa mina ngingenjengenye yencekukazi zakho.
Thank you for being so good to me, sir,” she replied. “You have reassured me by speaking to me kindly. I'm not even one of your servants.”
14 UBhowazi wathi kuye: Ngesikhathi sokudla sondela lapha, udle okwesinkwa, utshebe ucezu lwakho kuviniga. Ngakho wahlala eceleni kwabavuni, wasemkhangeza amabele akhanzingiweyo; wadla wasutha watshiya.
When it was time to eat, Boaz called her over. “Come here,” he said. “Take some bread and dip it in wine vinegar.” So she sat down with the workers and Boaz passed her some roasted grain to eat. She ate until she'd had enough with some left over.
15 Kwathi esukuma ukukhothoza, uBhowazi walaya amajaha akhe esithi: Myekeleni ukuthi akhothoze laphakathi kwezithungo, lingamyangisi,
After Ruth went back to work Boaz told his men, “Let her pick up grain even among the sheaves. Don't say anything to embarrass her.
16 laye limhwatshele-ke ngabomu okunye ezinyandeni, likutshiye ukuze akukhothoze, lingamkhuzi.
In fact, pull out some stalks from the bundles you're cutting and leave them for her to pick up. Don't tell her off.”
17 Wakhothoza-ke ensimini kwaze kwahlwa. Wabhula lokho ayekukhothozile, kwaba phose yi-efa yebhali.
Ruth worked in the field until the evening. When she beat out the grain that she had picked up it was a large amount.
18 Wakuthwala wangena emzini, loninazala wabona akukhothozileyo; wakhupha wamnika akutshiya esesuthi.
She picked it up and took it back to town to show her mother-in-law how much she had collected. Ruth also gave her what she had left over from her meal.
19 Uninazala wasesithi kuye: Ubukhothoza ngaphi lamuhla? Usebenze ngaphi? Kabusiswe lowo okunanzeleleyo. Wasemtshela uninazala ukuthi usebenze kobani, wathi: Ibizo lalowomuntu engisebenze kuye lamuhla nguBhowazi.
Naomi asked her, “Where did you pick up grain today? Exactly where did you work? Bless whoever cared enough about you to pay you some attention!” So she told her mother-in-law about who she had worked with. “The man I worked with today is called Boaz.”
20 UNawomi wasesithi kumalokazana wakhe: Kabusiswe yiNkosi engayekelanga umusa wayo kwabaphilayo lakwabafileyo. UNawomi wathi kuye: Lowomuntu uyisihlobo sethu esiseduze kithi, ongomunye wabahlengi bethu.
“The Lord bless him!” Naomi exclaimed to her daughter-in-law. “He goes on showing his kindness to the living and the dead. That man is a close relative to us—a ‘family redeemer.’”
21 URuthe umMowabikazi wasesithi: Ngoba laye uthe kimi: Uzanamathela emajaheni engilawo aze aqede sonke isivuno engilaso.
Ruth added, “He also told me, ‘Stay close to my workers until they have finished harvesting my entire crop.’”
22 UNawomi wasesithi kuRuthe umalokazana wakhe: Kuhle, ndodakazi yami, ukuthi uphume lamantombazana akhe, hlezi bakuhlangabeze kwenye insimu.
“That's good, my daughter,” Naomi told Ruth. “Stay with his women workers. Don't go to other fields where you might be molested.”
23 Wasenamathela emantombazaneni kaBhowazi, ekhothoza kwaze kwaphela isivuno sebhali lesivuno sengqoloyi. Wasehlala loninazala.
So Ruth stayed with Boaz' women workers picking up grain until the end of the barley harvest, and then on to the end of the wheat harvest. She lived with her mother-in-law the whole time.

< URuthe 2 >