URuthe 2
1 Njalo uNawomi wayelesihlobo somkakhe, umuntu oliqhawe onothileyo owosendo lukaElimeleki, lebizo lakhe lalinguBhowazi.
There was a man in Bethlehem who belonged to the clan of [Naomi’s dead husband], Elimelech. He was rich and well-known/influential. His name was Boaz.
2 URuthe umMowabikazi wasesithi kuNawomi: Ake ngiye emasimini, ngiyekhothoza okwezikhwebu ngemva kwalowo engizathola umusa emehlweni akhe. Wasesithi kuye: Hamba, ndodakazi yami.
[One day] Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the grain left behind by the workers.” Naomi replied, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
3 Wasehamba wafika wakhothoza ensimini ngemva kwabavuni. Waqabuka efika kungxenye yensimu kaBhowazi owayengowosendo lukaElimeleki.
So Ruth went to the fields and began to pick up some of the left-over grain. And it happened that she was working in a field that belonged to Boaz, [the man] from the clan of [her dead father-in-law], Elimelech!
4 Khangela-ke, uBhowazi wafika evela eBhethelehema, wasesithi kubavuni: INkosi ibe lani. Basebesithi kuye: INkosi ikubusise.
Just then, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He greeted the men who were harvesting the grain, saying, “I want Yahweh to bless you!” They replied, “We want Yahweh to bless you, [too]!”
5 UBhowazi wasesithi encekwini yakhe eyayibekwe phezu kwabavuni: Le yintombi kabani?
Then Boaz saw Ruth, and asked the (foreman/man in charge of the other workmen), “Whose [daughter] is that young woman?”
6 Inceku eyayibekwe phezu kwabavuni yasiphendula yathi: Yintombi umMowabikazi eyabuya loNawomi evela elizweni lakoMowabi.
The foreman replied, “She is the woman from Moab who returned from there with [her mother-in-law] Naomi.
7 Yasisithi: Ake ngikhothoze ngibuthe phakathi kwezithungo ngemva kwabavuni. Ngakho ifikile, iqhubekile kusukela ekuseni kuze kube khathesi; lokuhlala kwayo endlini kuncinyane.
She said to me, ‘Please let me walk behind the men who are harvesting the grain and pick up some of the grain they leave behind.’ [I gave her permission, and] she went into the field, and she has been working from this morning until now. The only time she did not work was when she rested for a short time in the shelter.”
8 UBhowazi wasesithi kuRuthe: Kawuzwa yini, ndodakazi yami? Ungayikhothoza kwenye insimu, futhi ungedluli usuke lapha, kodwa unamathele lapha emantombazaneni ami.
So Boaz went over to Ruth and said to her, “Young lady, listen to me. Don’t go and pick up grain in another field. Do not go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls.
9 Amehlo akho kawabe sensimini ayivunayo, uwalandele. Angithi ngiwalayile amajaha ukuthi angakuthinti. Nxa usuwomile uye ezimbizeni, unathe kulokhu amajaha akukhileyo.
Watch where the men are harvesting, and follow along behind the [servant] girls. I will tell the men [who are working] not to touch/molest you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get some water to drink from the jars that the men have filled.”
10 Khona wathi mbo ngobuso bakhe wakhothamela emhlabathini, wathi kuye: Ngitholelani umusa emehlweni akho ukuthi unginanze lokhu ngingowezizweni?
When he said that, she knelt down in front of him [in respect], with her face touching the ground. She exclaimed, “Why are you acting so kindly toward me, by paying attention to me? [I am not even a Jew; I am] a foreigner!”
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.
Boaz replied, “People have told me all about what you have done for your mother-in-law. They told me that you left your parents and your homeland, and you came here to live among people whom you did not know before.
12 INkosi kayiwuvuze umsebenzi wakho, sengathi umvuzo wakho opheleleyo kawuvele eNkosini uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli, oze ngaphansi kwempiko zayo ukuphephela.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will repay you for what you have done. You have put yourself in the care of Yahweh, [like a little bird puts itself] under [its mother’s] wings [MET]. I desire that he will reward you very greatly.”
13 Wasesithi: Ake ngithole umusa emehlweni akho, nkosi yami, ngoba ungiduduzile, njalo ngoba ukhulume enhliziyweni yencekukazi yakho, lanxa mina ngingenjengenye yencekukazi zakho.
She replied, “Sir, I hope you will continue to act kindly toward me. You have comforted/encouraged me, even though I am lower in status than any of your servant girls.”
14 UBhowazi wathi kuye: Ngesikhathi sokudla sondela lapha, udle okwesinkwa, utshebe ucezu lwakho kuviniga. Ngakho wahlala eceleni kwabavuni, wasemkhangeza amabele akhanzingiweyo; wadla wasutha watshiya.
At mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Take some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar [and eat it].” Then when she sat down with the men who had been harvesting, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all the grain she wanted, and had some left over.
15 Kwathi esukuma ukukhothoza, uBhowazi walaya amajaha akhe esithi: Myekeleni ukuthi akhothoze laphakathi kwezithungo, lingamyangisi,
As she stood up to start gathering grain [again], Boaz ordered his workers, “Even if she gathers some grain near the bundles of grain that have been cut, do not scold her.
16 laye limhwatshele-ke ngabomu okunye ezinyandeni, likutshiye ukuze akukhothoze, lingamkhuzi.
Instead, pull out some stalks of grain from the bundles, and leave them on the ground for her to pick up, and do not rebuke her.”
17 Wakhothoza-ke ensimini kwaze kwahlwa. Wabhula lokho ayekukhothozile, kwaba phose yi-efa yebhali.
So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she (threshed/beat with a stick) the barley that she had gathered, [to separate the kernels from the stalks], and the barley filled a large basket.
18 Wakuthwala wangena emzini, loninazala wabona akukhothozileyo; wakhupha wamnika akutshiya esesuthi.
She carried it back to town, and showed to her mother-in-law how much she had gathered. Ruth also showed to her the grain [that was left over after] she had eaten enough from [what Boaz had given her at lunchtime].
19 Uninazala wasesithi kuye: Ubukhothoza ngaphi lamuhla? Usebenze ngaphi? Kabusiswe lowo okunanzeleleyo. Wasemtshela uninazala ukuthi usebenze kobani, wathi: Ibizo lalowomuntu engisebenze kuye lamuhla nguBhowazi.
Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? In whose [field] did you work? [God will] surely bless the man who was kind to you.” Then Ruth told her about the man in whose field she had been working. She said, “The name of the man [who owns the field] where I worked today is Boaz.”
20 UNawomi wasesithi kumalokazana wakhe: Kabusiswe yiNkosi engayekelanga umusa wayo kwabaphilayo lakwabafileyo. UNawomi wathi kuye: Lowomuntu uyisihlobo sethu esiseduze kithi, ongomunye wabahlengi bethu.
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will bless him! He has not stopped acting kindly toward [us, who are still] living, and to [our husbands] who have died.” Then she added, “That man is a close relative [of Elimelech]; he is one of those who has a responsibility to help those who are his relatives.”
21 URuthe umMowabikazi wasesithi: Ngoba laye uthe kimi: Uzanamathela emajaheni engilawo aze aqede sonke isivuno engilaso.
Then Ruth said, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they have finished harvesting all my grain.’”
22 UNawomi wasesithi kuRuthe umalokazana wakhe: Kuhle, ndodakazi yami, ukuthi uphume lamantombazana akhe, hlezi bakuhlangabeze kwenye insimu.
Naomi replied, “My daughter, it will be good for you to go [to his field] with his [servant] girls, because if you go to someone else’s field, someone might harm/molest you.”
23 Wasenamathela emantombazaneni kaBhowazi, ekhothoza kwaze kwaphela isivuno sebhali lesivuno sengqoloyi. Wasehlala loninazala.
So Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s [servant] girls [while she was working]. She gathered stalks of grain until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were finished. During that time she lived with Naomi.
