Translation:Ruth

For other English-language translations of this work, see Ruth (Bible).

Chapter 1

¹ In the days when the judges governed, there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem^[1] in Judah went down to dwell in the fields of Moab--he and his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Machlon and Kilyon, Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They came to the fields of Moab and stayed there. ³ Now Elimelech the husband of Naomi died; she and her two sons remained. ⁴ They took to themselves Moabite wives--the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the second Ruth,^[2] and they lived there about ten years. ⁵ Both Machlon and Kilyon also died; the woman remained from her two sons and husband.

⁶She and her daughters-in-law arose to return from the fields of Moab, for she heard in the fields of Moab that Yahweh had attended to his people, giving them food. ⁷ She went out from the place that she was, her two daughters-in-law with her, and went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Depart and go back, each of you to the house of her mother, and Yahweh will show kindness^[3], like you have with the dead and me. ⁹ Yahweh will provide and you shall find rest, each woman in the house of her husband." She kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept. ¹⁰ They said to her, "With you we shall return to your people." ¹¹ But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband, even if I said that I have hope that I would have a husband tonight, even if I would then also bear sons, ¹² would therefore you wait until those grew up? Would therefore you shut yourselves off and not be to husbands? No, my daughters; it is very bitter for me for your sake that the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me."

¹³ They lifted up their voice and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth to her clung. ¹⁴ She said, "See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and gods. Return, therefore, after your sister-in-law." ¹⁵ And Ruth said, "Do not entreat me to forsake you, to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people is my people and your God is my God.^{[4] 16} Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. Yahweh will do to me this and more^[5] if but death separates me and you." ¹⁷ And she saw that she was determined to go with her, so she ceased to say more to her.

¹⁸ The two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole city was stirred on their account. The women said, "Is this Naomi?" ¹⁹ She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi^[6]; call me Mara^[7], for Shaddai has shown me much bitterness. ²⁰ I went filled, but empty Yahweh has brought me back. Why do you call me Naomi; Yahweh has afflicted me, Shaddai has dealt unkindly with me." ²¹ Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who had returned from the fields of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

Chapter 2

¹ Naomi had a relative of her husband, a man of worthy character, from the tribe of Elimelech; his name was Boaz. ² Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean the ears of grain behind those I find favour with." She said to her, "Go, my daughter." ³ She went and started to glean in the field behind the harvesters, and she happened upon the piece of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s clan.

⁴ Now Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the harvesters, "Yahweh be with you!", and they said to him, "May Yahweh bless you!" ⁵ And Boaz said to the young man who was appointed over the harvesters, "To whom does that young woman belong?" ⁶ The young man who was appointed over the harvesters replied, saying, "The young woman is a Moabitess, who returned with Naomi from the fields of Moab. ⁷ She said, 'Let me glean and gather in the sheaves after the harvesters.' And she came and remained from then in the morning until now, except for her sitting in the house a little." ⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen intently, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field, nor go out from this one; keep close to my young women. ⁹ Keep your eyes on the field that is being harvested, and follow them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you thirst, go to the vessels and drink some of the water that the young men draw."

¹⁰ She fell on her face and bowed down to the ground, and said to him, "Why did I find favour in your eyes, regarding me, though I am a foreigner?" ¹¹ Boaz answered her, saying, "Told, told to me is all that you have done with your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land that you were born in, and went to a people that you did not know.¹² Yahweh will compensate your action and give you your full reward from Yahweh God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge." ¹³ She said, "May I continue to find favour in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken on the heart of your maidservant, and my lord, I am not the equal of one of your maidservants."

¹⁴ And Boaz said to her, "When it is time to eat, come hither, and eat from the bread and dip your piece in the vinegar." She sat beside the harvesters and he held out to her roasted grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and had more than enough. ¹⁵ She arose to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Also between the sheaves let her glean, and do not put her to shame; ¹⁶ also indeed draw out from the bundles and leave that for her to glean, and do not rebuke her." ¹⁷ She gleaned in the field until evening, and she beat out her gleanings, about an ephah of barley.

¹⁸ She took that up and came to the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she brought out and gave to her what was left over when she was satisfied. ¹⁹ Her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? Let him who noticed you be blessed!" She told to her mother-in-law what she did with him, and she said the name of the man with whom she worked that day was Boaz.

²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "He is blessed to Yahweh, whose kindness^[8] has not left the living and the dead." Naomi said to her, "The man is close to us; he is one of our redeemers." ²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, "He also said to me, 'Cling to my young men, until they complete the whole harvest.'" ²² Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young men, and you are not met with hostility in another field." ²³ She clung to the young women of Boaz to glean until the end of the harvests of barley and wheat, and she lived with her mother-in-law.

Chapter 3

¹ And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not indeed find rest for you, so that it may go well for you?" ² For is not Boaz, with whose young women you have been, our relative? See, he is winnowing the barley at the threshing-floor tonight. ³ Wash and anoint yourself and put your garment on yourself and go down to the threshing-floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, remark the place that he lies, and then come and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what you should do." ⁵ And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do."

⁶ She went down to the threshing-floor and did all that her mother-in-law directed. ⁷ And Boaz ate and drank, and it was well in his heart, and he came to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. She came undetectably and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ And in the middle of the night, the man was startled, and he turned over, and behold, a woman was lying down at his feet. ⁹ He said, "Who are you?" She said, "I am Ruth, your maidservant. Spread out the corners of your garment^[9] on your maidservant, for you are a redeemer."

¹⁰ He said, "Blessed you are to Yahweh, my daughter; you have made this latter kindness^[10] better than the first, not going after the young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ Now, my daughter, do not be afraid: all that you say I will do for you, for all the citizens of my people know that you are a woman of worthy character. ¹² But now, I am indeed a redeemer, but there is also a redeemer closer than I. ¹³ Stay tonight, and in the morning, if he redeems you, good, let him redeem you; but if he does not desire to redeem you, I shall redeem you, by the life of Yahweh. Lie down until the morning."

¹⁴ She lay at his feet until the morning, and arose before a man can recognize another. He said, "Do not make it known that the woman came to the threshing-floor." ¹⁵ He said, "Bring the cloak you are wearing, and hold it out." She held it out, and he measured six measures of barley, and put them on her, and went to the city. ¹⁶ She came to her mother-in-law, who said, “Who are you, my daughter?" And she told her all that the man did for her. ¹⁷ She said, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, 'Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'" ¹⁸ And she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall, for the man will not rest until this matter is settled."

Chapter 4

¹ And Boaz went up to the gate and sat there, and the redeemer about whom Boaz had spoken was passing through. He said, "Turn aside and sit down here, so and so^[11]," and he turned aside and sat down. ² He took ten of the elders of the city, saying, "Sit down here," and they sat down. ³ And he said to the redeemer, "The share of the field that belonged to Elimelech Naomi is selling; she has returned from the field of Moab. ⁴ So I decided to tell you this, to say, 'Buy such in the sight of those sitting here and the elders of my people. If you will redeem, then redeem, but if not, tell that to me, for I know that there is but you to redeem, and I come after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem." ⁵ Boaz said, "In the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead you buy also, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance." ⁶ Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem if myself, lest I ruin my inheritance; redeem it yourself, with my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem."

⁷ Now formerly in Israel, when redeeming and exchanging, to confirm the whole matter a man would draw out his sandal and give it to the other, and this was the certification in Israel. ⁸ Therefore when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself," he removed his sandal. ⁹ Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that was Elimelech’s, and all that belonged to Machlon and Kilyon;¹⁰ also Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Machlon, I have bought to be my wife, in order to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance. The name of the dead has not been cut off from his brothers and the gate of his abode--you are witnesses today." ¹¹ All the people at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD give to the woman coming to your house like he did to Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah, and may your name be proclaimed in Bethlehem. ¹² May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring that the LORD will give to you from this young woman."

¹³ Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. He came to her, and Yahweh gave to her conception, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi, "Blessed is Yahweh, who did not fail for you to have a redeemer today; may his name be proclaimed in Israel. ¹⁵ He will be for you one who brings back the soul itself^[12] and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth." ¹⁶ Naomi took the child and placed him in her bosom, and she became his nurse. ¹⁷ The neighboring women named him, saying, "A son is born to Naomi," calling his name Obed; he was the father of Jesse, father of David.

¹⁸ And these are the generations^[13] of Perez: ¹⁹ Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab. ²⁰ Amminadab fathered Nachshon, and Nachshon fathered Salmah. ²¹ Salmon^[14] fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed. ²² Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Footnotes

1. (1:1)Bethlehem - literally "The house of bread", where ironically there was a famine; compare this name to "the fields of Moab", where they went to.
2. We will learn later that Ruth was Machlon's wife.
3. Heb. ḥésed (חסד)
4. (1:15)or "your gods are my gods". The word translated as "God" is also used to mean "gods".
5. A standard form of oath, found in the books of Samuel and Kings.
6. Naomi means pleasant.
7. Mara means bitter.
8. Heb. ḥésed (חסד)
9. The Hebrew for extremities of garment can also mean wings.
10. Heb. ḥésed (חסד)
11. (4:1) So and so - The subject’s name was intentionally omitted in the Hebrew; the text says פְּלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי, a placeholder for an absent name.
12. Heb. néphesh
13. Heb. tōlëḏoṯ
14. (4:21) Salmon - a version of the name "Salmah" at the end of the previous verse.