Ruth 4
1 Ascendit ergo Booz ad portam, et sedit ibi. Cumque vidisset propinquum præterire, de quo prius sermo habitus est, dixit ad eum: Declina paulisper, et sede hic: vocans eum nomine suo. Qui divertit, et sedit.
Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down. Just then the near kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken came along. Boaz said, ‘Hello, So-and-so (calling him by name), come here and sit down.’ So he stopped and sat down.
2 Tollens autem Booz decem viros de senioribus civitatis, dixit ad eos: Sedete hic.
Boaz also took ten of the town elders and said, ‘Sit down here.’ So they sat down.
3 Quibus sedentibus, locutus est ad propinquum: Partem agri fratris nostri Elimelech vendet Noemi, quæ reversa est de regione Moabitide:
Then he said to the near relative, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is offering for sale the piece of land which belonged to our relative Elimelech,
4 quod audire te volui, et tibi dicere coram cunctis sedentibus, et maioribus natu de populo meo. Si vis possidere iure propinquitatis: eme, et posside. Sin autem displicet tibi, hoc ipsum indica mihi, ut sciam quid facere debeam. Nullus enim est propinquus, excepto te, qui prior es: et me, qui secundus sum. At ille respondit: Ego agrum emam.
and I thought that I would lay the matter before you, suggesting that you buy it in the presence of these men who sit here and of the elders of my people. If you will buy it and so keep it in the possession of the family, do so; but if not; then tell me, so that I may know; for no one but you has the right to buy it, and I am next to you.’ ‘I will buy it,’ he said.
5 Cui dixit Booz: Quando emeris agrum de manu mulieris, Ruth quoque Moabitidem, quæ uxor defuncti fuit, debes accipere: ut suscites nomen propinqui tui in hereditate sua.
Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you must also marry Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to preserve the name of the dead in connection with his inheritance.’
6 Qui respondit: Cedo iuri propinquitatis: neque enim posteritatem familiæ meæ delere debeo. Tu meo utere privilegio, quo me libenter carere profiteor.
‘I cannot buy it for myself without spoiling my own inheritance,’ the near relative said. ‘You take my right of buying it as a relative, because I cannot do so.’
7 Hic autem erat mos antiquitus in Israel inter propinquos, ut si quando alter alteri suo iuri cedebat: ut esset firma concessio, solvebat homo calceamentum suum, et dabat proximo suo. Hoc erat testmonium cessionis in Israel.
Now this used to be the custom in Israel: to make valid anything relating to a matter of redemption or exchange, a man drew off his sandal and gave it to the other man; and this was the way contracts were attested in Israel.
8 Dixit ergo propinquo suo Booz: Tolle calceamentum tuum. Quod statim solvit de pede suo.
So when the near relative said to Boaz, ‘Buy it for yourself,’ Boaz drew off the man’s sandal.
9 At ille maioribus natu, et universo populo, Testes vos, inquit, estis hodie, quod possederim omnis quæ fuerunt Elimelech; et Chelion, et Mahalon, tradente Noemi:
Then Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, ‘You are witnesses at this time that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s from Naomi.
10 et Ruth Moabitidem, uxorem Mahalon, in coniugium sumpserim, ut suscitem nomen defuncti in hereditate sua, ne vocabulum eius de familia sua ac fratribus et populo deleatur. Vos, inquam, huius rei testes estis.
Moreover I have secured Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in connection with his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his relatives and from the household where he lived. You are witnesses this day.’
11 Respondit omnis populus, qui erat in porta, et maiores natu: Nos testes sumus: faciat Dominus hanc mulierem, quæ ingreditur domum tuam, sicut Rachel, et Liam, quæ ædificaverunt domum Israel: ut sit exemplum virtutis in Ephratha, et habeat celebre nomen in Bethlehem:
Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May you do well in Ephrata, and become famous in Bethlehem.
12 fiatque domus tua, sicut domus Phares, quem Thamar peperit Iudæ, de semine quod tibi dederit Dominus ex hac puella.
From the children whom the Lord will give you by this young woman may your household become like the household of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’
13 Tulit itaque Booz Ruth, et accepit uxorem: ingressusque est ad eam, et dedit illi Dominus ut conciperet, et pareret filium.
So Boaz married Ruth, and she became his wife; and the Lord gave to her a son.
14 Dixeruntque mulieres ad Noemi: Benedictus Dominus, qui non est passus ut deficeret successor familiæ tuæ, et vocaretur nomen eius in Israel.
Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has not left you at this time without a near relative, and may his name be famous in Israel.
15 Et habeas qui consoletur animam tuam, et enutriat senectutem. De nuru enim tua natus est, quæ te diligit: et multo tibi melior est, quam si septem haberes filios.
This child will restore your vigor and nourish you in your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is worth more to you than seven sons, has borne a son to Boaz!’
16 Susceptumque Noemi puerum posuit in sinu suo, et nutricis ac gerulæ fungebatur officio.
So Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him as if he was her own.
17 Vicinæ autem mulieris congratulantes ei, et dicentes: Natus est filius Noemi: vocaverunt nomen eius Obed: hic est pater Isai, patris David.
The women of the neighbourhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son is born to Naomi!’ They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
18 Hæ sunt generationes Phares: Phares genuit Esron,
This is the genealogy of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
19 Esron genuit Aram, Aram genuit Aminadab,
Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab,
20 Aminadab genuit Nahasson, Nahasson genuit Salmon,
Amminidab of Nashon, Nashon of Salmon,
21 Salmon genuit Booz, Booz genuit Obed,
Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed,
22 Obed genuit Isai, Isai genuit David.
Obed of Jesse, Jesse of David.
