Ruth 1

¹In the daies of o iuge, whanne iugis weren souereynes, hungur was maad in the lond; and a man of Bethleem of Juda yede to be a pylgrym in the cuntrei of Moab, with his wijf and twey fre sones.

²He was clepid Elymelech, and his wijf Noemy, and the twey sones, `the oon was clepid Maalon, and the tother Chelion, Effrateis of Bethleem of Juda; and thei entriden in to the cuntrey of Moab, and dwelliden there.

³And Elymelech, the hosebonde of Noemy, diede, and sche lefte with the sones;

⁴and thei token wyues of Moab, of whiche wyues oon was clepid Orpha, the tother Ruth. And the sones dwelliden there ten yeer,

⁵and bothe dieden, that is, Maalon and Chelion; and the womman lefte, and was maad bare of twey fre sones, and hosebonde.

⁶And sche roos to go with euer eithir wijf of hir sones in to hir cuntrey fro the cuntrey of Moab; for sche hadde herd, that the Lord hadde biholde his puple, and hadde youe `metis to hem.

⁷Therfor sche yede out of the place of hir pilgrymage with euer either wijf of hir sones; and now sche was set in the weie of turnyng ayen in to the lond of Juda,

⁸and sche seide to hem, Go ye in to `the hows of youre modir; the Lord do mercy with you, as ye diden with the deed men, and with me;

⁹the Lord yyue to you to fynde reste in the howsis of hosebondis, whiche ye schulen take. And sche kiste hem. Whiche bigunnen to wepe with `vois reisid,

¹⁰and to seie, We schulen go with thee to thi puple.

¹¹To whiche sche answeride, My douytris, turne ye ayen, whi comen ye with me? Y haue no more sones in my wombe, that ye moun hope hosebondis of me; my douytris of Moab, turne ye ayen, and go;

¹²for now Y am maad eeld, and Y am not able to boond of mariage; yhe, thouy Y myyte conseyue in this nyyt,

¹³and bere sones, if ye wolen abide til thei wexen, and fillen the yeris of mariage, `ye schulen sunner be eld wymmen than ye schulen be weddid; I biseche, `nyle ye, my douytris, for youre angwische oppressith me more, and the hond of the Lord yede out ayens me.

¹⁴Therfor, whanne the vois was reisid, eft thei bigunnen to wepe. Orpha kisside `the modir of hir hosebonde, and turnede ayen, and Ruth `cleuyde to `the modir of hir hosebonde.

¹⁵To whom Noemy seide, Lo! thi kyneswomman turnede ayen to hir puple, and to hir goddis; go thou with hir.

¹⁶And sche answeride, Be thou not `aduersarye to me, that Y forsake thee, and go awei; whidur euer thou schalt go, Y schal go, and where thou schalt dwelle, and Y schal dwelle togidere; thi puple is my puple, and thi God is my God;

¹⁷what lond schal resseyue thee diynge, Y schal die ther ynne, and there Y schal take place of biriyng; God do to me these thingis, and adde these thingis, if deeth aloone schal not departe me and thee.

¹⁸Therfor Noemy siy, that Ruth hadde demyde with stidefast soule to go with hir, and sche nolde be ayens hir, nether counseile ferthere turnynge ayen `to her cuntrei men.

¹⁹And thei yeden forth togidere, and camen in to Bethleem; and whanne thei entriden in to the citee, swift fame roos anentis alle men, and wymmen seiden, This is thilke Noemy.

²⁰To whiche sche seide, Clepe ye not me Noemy, that is, fair, but `clepe ye me Mara, that is, bittere; for Almyyti God hath fillid me greetli with bitternesse.

²¹Y yede out ful, and the Lord ledde me ayen voide; whi therfor clepen ye me Noemy, whom the Lord hath `maad low, and Almyyti God hath turmentid?

²²Therfor Noemy cam with Ruth of Moab, `the wijf of hir sone, fro the lond of hir pilgrimage, and turnede ayen in to Bethleem, whanne barli was ropun first.

Ruth 1

¹Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth–lehem–judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

²And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth–lehem–judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

³And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

⁴And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

⁵And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

⁶Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.

⁷Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

⁸And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

⁹The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

¹⁰And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

¹¹And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

¹²Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

¹³Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.

¹⁴And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

¹⁵And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.

¹⁶And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

¹⁷Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

¹⁸When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

¹⁹So they two went until they came to Beth–lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth–lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

²⁰And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

²¹I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth–lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.