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Ruth 1-2
New Life Version
Ruth 1-2
New Life Version
Elimelech’s Family Moves to Moab
1 In the days when there were judges to rule, there was a time of no food in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to visit the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech. His wife’s name was Naomi. And the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the land of Moab and stayed there. 3 But Naomi’s husband Elimelech died. And she was left with her two sons, 4 who married Moabite women. The name of one was Orpah. The name of the other was Ruth. After living there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi was left without her two children and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 Then Naomi got ready to return from the land of Moab with her daughters-in-law. She had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had brought food to His people. 7 So she left with her two daughters-in-law and went on the way toward the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, each one of you return to your own mother’s house. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have done with the dead and with me. 9 May the Lord help you to find a home, each in the family of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they cried in loud voices. 10 They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return to your people, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I have more sons within me, who could become your husbands? 12 Return, my daughters. Go. For I am too old to have a husband. If I had hope, if I should have a husband tonight and give birth to sons, 13 would you wait until they were grown? Would you not marry until then? No, my daughters. It is harder for me than for you. For the hand of the Lord is against me.” 14 Then they cried again in loud voices. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth held on to her.
15 Naomi said, “See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not beg me to leave you or turn away from following you. I will go where you go. I will live where you live. Your people will be my people. And your God will be my God. 17 I will die where you die, and there I will be buried. So may the Lord do the same to me, and worse, if anything but death takes me from you.” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth would do nothing but go with her, she said no more to her.
19 So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. The whole town of Bethlehem was happy because of them. The women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara. For the All-powerful has brought much trouble to me. 21 I went out full. But the Lord has made me return empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has spoken against me. The All-powerful has allowed me to suffer.”
22 So Naomi returned. And her daughter-in-law Ruth, the Moabite woman, returned with her from the land of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley gathering time.
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 There was an in-law of the family of Naomi’s husband there whose name was Boaz. He was a very rich man of the family of Elimelech. 2 Ruth, the Moabite woman, said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field to gather grain behind someone who might show favor to me.” Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth went and gathered in the field behind those who picked the grain. And she happened to come to the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now Boaz was seen coming from Bethlehem. He said to the people gathering the grain, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bring good to you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was watching over those who gathered grain, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The servant who watched over those who gathered grain said, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Let me gather food behind the others who gather among the grain.’ So she came and has stayed from morning until now. She has rested in the house a short time.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Be careful to listen, my daughter. Do not go to gather grain in another field. Do not leave this one. But stay here with my women who gather grain. 9 Keep your eyes upon the field where they gather grain. Go behind them. I have told the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars. Drink the water the servants have put there.” 10 Then she fell with her face to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes? Why do you care about me? I am a stranger from another land.” 11 Boaz said to her, “I have heard about all you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth to come to a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord reward you for your work. May full pay be given to you from the Lord, the God of Israel. It is under His wings that you have come to be safe.” 13 Then Ruth said, “Sir, I have found favor in your eyes. For you have brought comfort and have been kind in speaking to your woman servant. And I am not like any of your other women servants.”
14 When it was time to eat, Boaz said to Ruth, “Come here. Eat of the bread and put sour wine on it.” So she sat beside the people who gathered the grain. And Boaz brought her grain made ready over a fire. She ate and was filled and had some left. 15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told his servants, “Let her gather even among the standing grain. Do not speak against her. 16 Pull some grain out of the grain that has been gathered together and leave it for her to gather. And do not speak sharp words to her.”
17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gathered. It was enough barley to fill a basket. 18 She picked it up and went into the city to show her mother-in-law what she had gathered. Ruth gave Naomi what she had left after she was filled. 19 Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May good come to the man who showed you favor.” So Ruth told her mother-in-law, “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he receive good from the Lord, Who has not kept His kindness from the living and the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is near to us. He is of our family.” 21 Ruth, the Moabite woman, said, “He told me, ‘You should stay close to my servants until they have finished gathering all my grain.’” 22 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good that you go out with his women servants, my daughter. Then no danger will come upon you in another field.” 23 So she stayed close to those who worked for Boaz until the end of the time of gathering grain. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth 1-2
New International Version
Ruth 1-2
New International Version
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1 In the days when the judges ruled,[a](A) there was a famine in the land.(B) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,(C) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while(D) in the country of Moab.(E) 2 The man’s name was Elimelek,(F) his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.(G) They were Ephrathites(H) from Bethlehem,(I) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women,(J) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.(K) After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion(L) also died,(M) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 When Naomi heard in Moab(N) that the Lord had come to the aid of his people(O) by providing food(P) for them, she and her daughters-in-law(Q) prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home.(R) May the Lord show you kindness,(S) as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands(T) and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest(U) in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed(V) them goodbye and they wept aloud(W) 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?(X) 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up?(Y) Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter(Z) for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!(AA)”
14 At this they wept(AB) aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law(AC) goodbye,(AD) but Ruth clung to her.(AE)
15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law(AF) is going back to her people and her gods.(AG) Go back with her.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you(AH) or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go,(AI) and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people(AJ) and your God my God.(AK) 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely,(AL) if even death separates you and me.”(AM) 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.(AN)
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.(AO) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred(AP) because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,[b]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[c] because the Almighty[d](AQ) has made my life very bitter.(AR) 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.(AS) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[e] me;(AT) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,(AU) her daughter-in-law,(AV) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest(AW) was beginning.(AX)
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
2 Now Naomi had a relative(AY) on her husband’s side, a man of standing(AZ) from the clan of Elimelek,(BA) whose name was Boaz.(BB)
2 And Ruth the Moabite(BC) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain(BD) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.(BE)”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.(BF) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.(BG)
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!(BH)”
“The Lord bless you!(BI)” they answered.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite(BJ) who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves(BK) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest(BL) in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.(BM) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me(BN)—a foreigner?(BO)”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law(BP) since the death of your husband(BQ)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know(BR) before.(BS) 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,(BT) the God of Israel,(BU) under whose wings(BV) you have come to take refuge.(BW)”
13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,(BX) my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread(BY) and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters,(BZ) he offered her some roasted grain.(CA) She ate all she wanted and had some left over.(CB) 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves(CC) and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke(CD) her.”
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed(CE) the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.[f](CF) 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over(CG) after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!(CH)”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 “The Lord bless him!(CI)” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.(CJ) “He has not stopped showing his kindness(CK) to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative;(CL) he is one of our guardian-redeemers.[g](CM)”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite(CN) said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley(CO) and wheat harvests(CP) were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Footnotes
- Ruth 1:1 Traditionally judged
- Ruth 1:20 Naomi means pleasant.
- Ruth 1:20 Mara means bitter.
- Ruth 1:20 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 21
- Ruth 1:21 Or has testified against
- Ruth 2:17 That is, probably about 30 pounds or about 13 kilograms
- Ruth 2:20 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55).
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