1:1
And it came to pass in the days when the shofetim judged, that there was a famine in the land. And an ish from Beit-Lechem of Yehudah went to sojourn in the fields of Moav, he and his ishah and his two sons.
1:2
And the name of the ish was Elimelekh, and the name of his ishah was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Machlon and Kilyon, Efratim from Beit-Lechem of Yehudah. And they came to the fields of Moav and remained there.
1:3
And Elimelekh, ish of Naomi, died. And she remained, she and her two sons.
1:4
And they took for themselves Moavite women as wives. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the second was Rut. And they dwelt there about ten years.
1:5
And both of them also died, Machlon and Kilyon. And the ishah remained without her two children and without her ish.
1:6
And she arose, she and her daughters-in-law, and returned from the fields of Moav, for she had heard in the fields of Moav that Yahuah had visited His people by giving them bread.
1:7
And she went out from the place where she had been, and her two daughters-in-law with her. And they went on the way to return to the land of Yehudah.
1:8
And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law: “Go, return each ishah to the house of her mother. May Yahuah deal with you in Covenant-Faithfulness, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
1:9
May Yahuah grant you that you find rest, each ishah in the house of her ish.” And she kissed them. And they lifted up their voices and wept.
1:10
And they said to her: “No, but with you we will return to your people.”
1:11
And Naomi said: “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they might become your husbands?
1:12
Return, my daughters. Go. For I am too old to belong to an ish. Even if I said, ‘There is hope for me,’ even if tonight I belonged to an ish and even bore sons,
1:13
would you wait for them until they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves for them, not belonging to an ish? No, my daughters. For it is exceedingly bitter for me because of you, for the hand of Yahuah has gone out against me.”
1:14
And they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Rut clung to her.
1:15
And she said: “See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her elohim. Return after your sister-in-law.”
1:16
And Rut said: “Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following after you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your Elohim my Elohim.
1:17
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may Yahuah do to me, and thus may He add, if anything but death separates between me and you.”
1:18
And when she saw that she was strengthening herself to go with her, she ceased speaking to her.
1:19
And the two of them went until they came to Beit-Lechem. And it came to pass, when they came to Beit-Lechem, that all the city was stirred concerning them. And the women said: “Is this Naomi?”
1:20
And she said to them: “Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for Shaddai has dealt very bitterly with me.
1:21
Full I went out, and empty Yahuah has returned me. Why should you call me Naomi, when Yahuah has testified against me and Shaddai has brought evil upon me?”
1:22
And Naomi returned, and Rut the Moavitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the fields of Moav. And they came to Beit-Lechem at the beginning of the barley harvest.