Elimelexa, taras tsî ǀgôakha âb ǀkha, Moab ǃnâ
1 ǂHanuǂhanu-aogu ǂgaeǂguis ǁaeb ǃnâb ge ǃâtsūǀkhāba Israeli ǃnâ ge hā. Ob ge khoeb, Betlehems, Judab ǃnâ ǂnôas diba taras tsî ǀgôakha âb tsîn ǀkha ge doe, Moab ǀkharib ǃnâb sī ǃhaokhoese nî hâse. 2 ǁNā khoeb ge Elimelex ti ge ǀon hâ i tsî taras âba Naomi tsî ǀgôakha âb ge Maxlonni tsî Kiljonni tsîkha ge i, Efrataǁîn, Betlehems, Judab dis dina. Tsîn ge Moab ǀkharib ǃnâ sī ge ǁan. 3 Elimelexi, Naomis aob ge ǁō, os ge ǀgôakha ǀkha ǀgui ge ǃgau. 4 ǁÎkha ge Moabǁî tarara ge ǃgame; ǀguis ge Orpa ti ge ǀon hâ i tsî nausa Rut. ǁNāpan ge disi kuriga ge hâ, 5 tsî kha ge Maxlonni tsî Kiljonni tsîkha ona ge ǁō. ǁNātis ge Naomisa ǀguri ge ǃgau, aob tsî ǀgôakha âs tsîgu ose.
Naomis ge Ruts ǀkha Betlehems ǁga ra oa
6 Naomis ge ǃKhūb go ǁaes âba ǀkhae tsî ǀoasa ǃgaosa mā ǃkhaisa ǁnâu, os ge ǀuiǀgôara âs ǀkha ǂhomisen tsî Moab ǀkhariba xu ge ǁaru. 7 ǁÎdi ge hâ di ge i ǃkhaisa xu ge ǂoa, Judab ǃoa di nî ǁaruse. 8 Os ge Naomisa ǀuiǀgôara âs ǃoa ge mî: “Oa ro re, mâs hoasa ǁîs îs di oms ǁga. Ab ǃKhūba ǃgâidī ro re, saro ge ǁō ge gu tsî tita tsîna dības ǁkhās xase. 9 Îb ǃKhūba īǁkhā kai, mâs hoas âro aob tsî omma nî hōsa.”
Tsî ǁoa ras ge, o ra ge ge ātsoatsoa, 10 tsî ra ge ǁîs ǃoa ge mî: “Sim ge sas ǀkha sa khoen ǁga nî ǃgû.”
11 Os ge Naomisa ge mî: “Oa ro re, ti ôa, tare-i ǃaroma ro kha tita nî sao? Tita kha xare ǁkhawa ǀgôakha hō ǁkhā ta nî, saro ǀkha nî ǃgamese? 12 Oa ro re, ti ôa, tita ǁkhawa ǃgamesa kairaba hâ xuige. Tsî ǂâi ta ka, īǁkhāsib hâsa tsî nē tsuxub ǂûb ǃnâ ǃgame tsî ǀgôakha ǁora, 13 xawe ǃâu ro nî kai kha nîs kōse? ǁKhaesen ro nî ǁkhawa ǃgamesa xu? ǁNās ge tita kaise saro ǃgâ-ai a auba, ǃKhūb go ti ǃoagu khâi amaga.”
14 ǁÎra ge ǁkhawa ge ātsoatsoa. Orpas ge ǀuiǁgûs âsa tawedeǁnāxū, xawes ge Rutsa ǁîsa ǁnāxū ǂgao tama ge i. 15 Os ge Naomisa ǁîs ǃoa ge mî: “Mû, sa ǀgamis ge ǁîs ǁaes tsî elogu âs ǃoa go oa. Sas ona ǁîs ǀkha oa re.”
16 Xawes ge Rutsa ge mî: “Tā sasa ǁnāxū tsî ta nî oasa ǂgaoǀkhā te; sas ra ǃgûǀî ǃgû tsî ta ge sas ra hâpa nî hâ, sa ǁaes ge nî ti ǁae, tsî sa Elob ge nî ti Elo. 17 Sas ra ǁō ǃkhais ai ǁō tsî ta ge ǁnāpa nî ǁkhōhe. Ab ǃKhūba ǁkhōse ǁkhara te, ǁōb ǀguib ose iga ǀnî xū-e samma ǀgorao.”
18 Tsî Naomis ge mû, Ruts mîǁguib âs ai mâsa, os ge ge ǃnō.
19 ǁNāti ra ge ǁîra ge ǃgû Betlehems tawa ra ge sīs kōse. Betlehems ǃnâ ra ge sī, o di ge ǃās taradi hoade ge gongonǃnâhe, tsî di ge ge mî: “Nēsa kha Naomi tamasa!”
20 Os ge ge ǃeream: “Tā Naomi ti ǂgai te, î Mara ti ǂgai te, Hoaǀgaixab ge ûiba au-auba te xuige. 21 ǀOasase ūhâse ta ge nēpa xu ge doe, xaweb ge ǃKhūba ǀkhaiǃomse go oahā kai te. Tare-i ǃaroma du Naomi ti ra ǂgai te? ǃKhūb ge ti ǃoagu ge khâimâ, Hoaǀgaixab ge ge tsâtsâ te.”
22 Nētis ge Naomisa Moab ǀkhariba xu ǁîs di Moabǁî ǀuiǀgôas Ruts ǀkha ge oahā. ǁÎra ge ǃhoroǃgaos tsoatsoas ǁaeb ǃnâ Betlehems ǃnâ ge hā.
Elimelech and His Family Move to Moab
1-2 Long ago, in the days before Israel had a king, there was a famine in the land. So a man named Elimelech, who belonged to the clan of Ephrath and who lived in Bethlehem in Judah, went with his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion to live for a while in the country of Moab. While they were living there, 3 Elimelech died, and Naomi was left alone with her two sons, 4 who married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. About ten years later 5 Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left all alone, without husband or sons.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 Some time later Naomi heard that the Lord had blessed his people by giving them good crops; so she got ready to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law. 7 They started out together to go back to Judah, but on the way 8 she said to them, “Go back home and stay with your mothers. May the Lord be as good to you as you have been to me and to those who have died. 9 And may the Lord make it possible for each of you to marry again and have a home.”
So Naomi kissed them good-bye. But they started crying 10 and said to her, “No! We will go with you to your people.”
11 “You must go back, my daughters,” Naomi answered. “Why do you want to come with me? Do you think I could have sons again for you to marry? 12 Go back home, for I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought there was still hope, and so got married tonight and had sons, 13 would you wait until they had grown up? Would this keep you from marrying someone else? No, my daughters, you know that's impossible. The Lord has turned against me, and I feel very sorry for you.”
14 Again they started crying. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye and went back home, but Ruth held on to her. 15 So Naomi said to her, “Ruth, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Go back home with her.”
16 But Ruth answered, “Don't ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the Lord's worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!”
18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.
19 They went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived, the whole town became excited, and the women there exclaimed, “Is this really Naomi?”
20 “Don't call me Naomi,” she answered; “call me Marah, because Almighty God has made my life bitter. 21 When I left here, I had plenty, but the Lord has brought me back without a thing. Why call me Naomi when the Lord Almighty has condemned me and sent me trouble?”
22 This, then, was how Naomi came back from Moab with Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the barley harvest was just beginning.
