< Ῥούθ 1 >

1 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ κρίνειν τοὺς κριτὰς καὶ ἐγένετο λιμὸς ἐν τῇ γῇ καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ Βαιθλεεμ τῆς Ιουδα τοῦ παροικῆσαι ἐν ἀγρῷ Μωαβ αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ
There was a famine during the time when the judges ruled Israel, so a man left Bethlehem in Judah and went to live in exile in the country of Moab, along with his wife and two sons.
2 καὶ ὄνομα τῷ ἀνδρὶ Αβιμελεχ καὶ ὄνομα τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ Νωεμιν καὶ ὄνομα τοῖς δυσὶν υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ Μααλων καὶ Χελαιων Εφραθαῖοι ἐκ Βαιθλεεμ τῆς Ιουδα καὶ ἤλθοσαν εἰς ἀγρὸν Μωαβ καὶ ἦσαν ἐκεῖ
His name was Elimelech, and his wife's name Naomi. His sons were called Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went to the country of Moab and lived there.
3 καὶ ἀπέθανεν Αβιμελεχ ὁ ἀνὴρ τῆς Νωεμιν καὶ κατελείφθη αὐτὴ καὶ οἱ δύο υἱοὶ αὐτῆς
However, Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 καὶ ἐλάβοσαν ἑαυτοῖς γυναῖκας Μωαβίτιδας ὄνομα τῇ μιᾷ Ορφα καὶ ὄνομα τῇ δευτέρᾳ Ρουθ καὶ κατῴκησαν ἐκεῖ ὡς δέκα ἔτη
The sons married Moabite women. One was called Orpah, the other was called Ruth. After about ten years,
5 καὶ ἀπέθανον καί γε ἀμφότεροι Μααλων καὶ Χελαιων καὶ κατελείφθη ἡ γυνὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δύο υἱῶν αὐτῆς
both Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi was left alone, without her two sons or her husband.
6 καὶ ἀνέστη αὐτὴ καὶ αἱ δύο νύμφαι αὐτῆς καὶ ἀπέστρεψαν ἐξ ἀγροῦ Μωαβ ὅτι ἤκουσαν ἐν ἀγρῷ Μωαβ ὅτι ἐπέσκεπται κύριος τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς ἄρτους
So she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the country of Moab and return home because she had heard that the Lord had blessed his people there with food.
7 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου οὗ ἦν ἐκεῖ καὶ αἱ δύο νύμφαι αὐτῆς μετ’ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπορεύοντο ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι εἰς τὴν γῆν Ιουδα
She left the place where she had been living and with her two daughters-in-law set out on the road back to the land of Judah.
8 καὶ εἶπεν Νωεμιν ταῖς νύμφαις αὐτῆς πορεύεσθε δὴ ἀποστράφητε ἑκάστη εἰς οἶκον μητρὸς αὐτῆς ποιήσαι κύριος μεθ’ ὑμῶν ἔλεος καθὼς ἐποιήσατε μετὰ τῶν τεθνηκότων καὶ μετ’ ἐμοῦ
However, as they left, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you, go back to your mother's homes, and may the Lord be as kind to you as you have been to me, and to those who have died.
9 δῴη κύριος ὑμῖν καὶ εὕροιτε ἀνάπαυσιν ἑκάστη ἐν οἴκῳ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτάς καὶ ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν καὶ ἔκλαυσαν
May the Lord give you a good home with another husband.” She kissed them, and they all started to cry loudly.
10 καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῇ μετὰ σοῦ ἐπιστρέφομεν εἰς τὸν λαόν σου
“No! We want to go back with you to your people,” they replied.
11 καὶ εἶπεν Νωεμιν ἐπιστράφητε δή θυγατέρες μου καὶ ἵνα τί πορεύεσθε μετ’ ἐμοῦ μὴ ἔτι μοι υἱοὶ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ μου καὶ ἔσονται ὑμῖν εἰς ἄνδρας
“Why do you want to go back with me?” Naomi asked. “I'm not able to have any more sons for you to marry.
12 ἐπιστράφητε δή θυγατέρες μου διότι γεγήρακα τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἀνδρί ὅτι εἶπα ὅτι ἔστιν μοι ὑπόστασις τοῦ γενηθῆναί με ἀνδρὶ καὶ τέξομαι υἱούς
Go back home, my daughters, because I'm too old to marry again. Even if I were to sleep with a new husband tonight and had sons,
13 μὴ αὐτοὺς προσδέξεσθε ἕως οὗ ἁδρυνθῶσιν ἢ αὐτοῖς κατασχεθήσεσθε τοῦ μὴ γενέσθαι ἀνδρί μὴ δή θυγατέρες μου ὅτι ἐπικράνθη μοι ὑπὲρ ὑμᾶς ὅτι ἐξῆλθεν ἐν ἐμοὶ χεὶρ κυρίου
would you wait for them to grow up? Would you decide you weren't going to marry anyone else? No. The whole situation is more bitter for me than it is for you, for the Lord has turned against me!”
14 καὶ ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν καὶ ἔκλαυσαν ἔτι καὶ κατεφίλησεν Ορφα τὴν πενθερὰν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν λαὸν αὐτῆς Ρουθ δὲ ἠκολούθησεν αὐτῇ
They started crying loudly again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on tightly to Naomi.
15 καὶ εἶπεν Νωεμιν πρὸς Ρουθ ἰδοὺ ἀνέστρεψεν ἡ σύννυμφός σου πρὸς λαὸν αὐτῆς καὶ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς αὐτῆς ἐπιστράφητι δὴ καὶ σὺ ὀπίσω τῆς συννύμφου σου
“Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back home with her,” said Naomi.
16 εἶπεν δὲ Ρουθ μὴ ἀπαντήσαι ἐμοὶ τοῦ καταλιπεῖν σε ἢ ἀποστρέψαι ὄπισθέν σου ὅτι σὺ ὅπου ἐὰν πορευθῇς πορεύσομαι καὶ οὗ ἐὰν αὐλισθῇς αὐλισθήσομαι ὁ λαός σου λαός μου καὶ ὁ θεός σου θεός μου
But Ruth replied, “Please don't keep on telling me to leave you and go back. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.
17 καὶ οὗ ἐὰν ἀποθάνῃς ἀποθανοῦμαι κἀκεῖ ταφήσομαι τάδε ποιήσαι μοι κύριος καὶ τάδε προσθείη ὅτι θάνατος διαστελεῖ ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ σοῦ
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me harshly if I let anything but death separate us!”
18 ἰδοῦσα δὲ Νωεμιν ὅτι κραταιοῦται αὐτὴ τοῦ πορεύεσθαι μετ’ αὐτῆς ἐκόπασεν τοῦ λαλῆσαι πρὸς αὐτὴν ἔτι
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped telling Ruth to go home.
19 ἐπορεύθησαν δὲ ἀμφότεραι ἕως τοῦ παραγενέσθαι αὐτὰς εἰς Βαιθλεεμ καὶ ἤχησεν πᾶσα ἡ πόλις ἐπ’ αὐταῖς καὶ εἶπον αὕτη ἐστὶν Νωεμιν
So the two of them walked on until they reached Bethlehem. When they arrived there, the whole town got excited. “Is this Naomi?” the women asked.
20 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτάς μὴ δὴ καλεῖτέ με Νωεμιν καλέσατέ με Πικράν ὅτι ἐπικράνθη ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ ἱκανὸς σφόδρα
She said to them, “Don't call me Naomi! Call me Mara, for the Almighty has treated me very bitterly.
21 ἐγὼ πλήρης ἐπορεύθην καὶ κενὴν ἀπέστρεψέν με ὁ κύριος καὶ ἵνα τί καλεῖτέ με Νωεμιν καὶ κύριος ἐταπείνωσέν με καὶ ὁ ἱκανὸς ἐκάκωσέν με
I left here full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has condemned me, when the Almighty has brought disaster on me?”
22 καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν Νωεμιν καὶ Ρουθ ἡ Μωαβῖτις ἡ νύμφη αὐτῆς ἐπιστρέφουσα ἐξ ἀγροῦ Μωαβ αὐταὶ δὲ παρεγενήθησαν εἰς Βαιθλεεμ ἐν ἀρχῇ θερισμοῦ κριθῶν
This is the way that Naomi returned from Moab with Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter-in-law. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

< Ῥούθ 1 >