1 Now there came a time, in the days of the judges, when there was no food in the land. And a certain man went from Beth-lehem-judah, he and his wife and his two sons, to make a living-place in the country of Moab.

2 And 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 were there for some time.

3 And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, came to his end; and only her two sons were with her.

4 And they took two women of Moab as their wives: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth; and they went on living there for about ten years.

5 And Mahlon and Chilion came to their end; and the woman was without her two sons and her husband.

6 So she and her daughters-in-law got ready to go back from the country of Moab, for news had come to her in the country of Moab that the Lord, in mercy for his people, had given them food.

7 And she went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah.

8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go back to your mothers' houses: may the Lord be good to you as you have been good to the dead and to me:

9 May the Lord give you rest in the houses of your husbands. Then she gave them a kiss; and they were weeping bitterly.

10 And they said to her, No, but we will go back with you to your people.

11 But Naomi said, Go back, my daughters; why will you come with me? Have I more sons in my body, to become your husbands?

12 Go back, my daughters, and go on your way; I am so old now that I may not have another husband. If I said, I have hopes, if I had a husband tonight, and might have sons,

13 Would you keep yourselves till they were old enough? would you keep from having husbands for them? No, my daughters; but I am very sad for you that the hand of the Lord is against me.

14 Then again they were weeping; and Orpah gave her mother-in-law a kiss, but Ruth would not be parted from her.

15 And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods: go back after your sister-in-law.

16 But Ruth said, Give up requesting me to go away from you, or to go back without you: for where you go I will go; and where you take your rest I will take my rest; your people will be my people, and your God my God.

17 Wherever death comes to you, death will come to me, and there will be my last resting-place; the Lord do so to me and more if we are parted by anything but death.

18 And when she saw that Ruth was strong in her purpose to go with her she said no more.

19 So the two of them went on till they came to Beth-lehem. And when they came to Beth-lehem all the town was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

20 And she said to them, Do not let my name be Naomi, but Mara, for the Ruler of all has given me a bitter fate.

21 I went out full, and the Lord has sent me back again with nothing; why do you give me the name Naomi, seeing that the Lord has given witness against me, and the Ruler of all has sent sorrow on me?

22 So Naomi came back out of the country of Moab, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her; and they came to Beth-lehem in the first days of the grain-cutting.

1 No tempo em que eram ainda os juízes quem dirigia o povo de Israel, houve um homem de Belém em Judá chamado Elimeleque, que deixou a sua terra onde havia muita fome e emigrou para a terra de Moabe. Acompanharam-no a sua mulher, Noemi, e os dois filhos do casal, Malom e Quiliom.

3 Enquanto lá estavam Elimeleque faleceu e Noemi achou-se sozinha com os seus dois rapazes.

4 Mas estes entretanto casaram com duas raparigas de Moabe, Orfa e Rute. Passados tempos, acontece que os dois homens também morreram; e Noemi vê-se de novo desamparada, sem o marido e os filhos.

6 Por isso decide regressar a Israel, na companhia das noras, pois tinha ouvido que o Senhor abençoara o seu povo, dando-lhe novamente boas colheitas.

8 Mas já de caminho resolveu falar às noras: Vocês não preferem antes voltar para as vossas famílias em vez de me acompanharem? Se assim fizerem, que o Senhor vos recompense pela vossa fidelidade para com a memória dos vossos maridos e para comigo. Que ele vos abençoe, preparando-vos outro casamento feliz. E abraçou-as, beijando-as. Todas choravam com emoção.

10 Não, diziam as moças. Nós vamos contigo viver junto do teu povo.

11 Mas Noemi insistiu: Fariam melhor em voltar para o vosso povo. Bem vêem que já não se põe a hipótese de eu vir a ter filhos que crescessem e casassem convosco! Não, minhas filhas, voltem para as vossas casas, porque eu já não tenho idade para tornar a casar. E mesmo que tal fosse possível, e que esta mesma noite eu concebesse filhos, haviam vocês de esperar tanto tempo até que eles fossem grandes? Não, com certeza que não. Oh, como eu lamento que o Senhor me tenha castigado assim; a minha amargura é maior do que a vossa.

14 E estiveram a chorar mais um tempo, até que Orfa, abraçando-se à sogra, decidiu dizer-lhes adeus, e regressou à casa paterna. No entanto Rute foi inflexível em querer ficar com Noemi.

15 Vê, disse-lhe Noemi, a tua cunhada já se foi embora para junto dos seus familiares e dos seus deuses. Faz tu também o mesmo.

16 Mas Rute respondeu-lhe: Não me forces a deixar-te. Porque onde quer que fores irei eu; onde quer que passares a viver, aí viverei eu. O teu povo é o meu também, e o teu Deus é o meu Deus; quero vir a morrer onde tu morreres e ficarei aí sepultada. Que o Senhor me castigue tanto quanto quiser se houver alguma coisa mais do que a morte que nos separe.

18 Quando Noemi viu que Rute tinha tomado uma decisão firme e que nada a podia demover, não insistiu mais.

19 Então ambas vieram para Belém. A povoação inteira se comoveu à sua chegada. Mas é esta mesmo Noemi?, perguntavam as mulheres.

20 Ela respondia: Não me chamem mais Noemi, mas sim Mara , porque o Deus poderoso me tem afligido muito. Parti cheia e regresso vazia. Porque é que haviam de me chamar Noemi quando o Senhor parece ter-se desviado de mim e me trouxe tamanha calamidade?

22 O regresso delas a Belém, vindas de Moabe, deu-se no princípio da colheita da cevada.