¹It happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

¹I Dommernes Dage blev der engang Hungersnød i Landet. Da drog en Mand fra Betlehem i Juda til Moabiternes Land for at bo der som fremmed med sin Hustru og sine to Sønner.

²The 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 Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

²Manden bed Elimelek, hans Hustru No'omi og hans to Sønner Malon og Hiljon, Efratiter fra Betlehem i Juda, og de kom til Moabiternes Land og opholdt sig der.

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

³Så døde Elimelek, No'omis Mand, og hun sad tilbage med sine to Sønner.

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

⁴De tog sig moabitiske Hustruer; den ene hed Orpa, den anden Rut. Men da de havde boet der en halv Snes År,

⁵Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband.

⁵døde også de to, Malon og Kiljon, så at Kvinden sad alene tilbage efter sine to Sønner og sin Mand.

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 Yahweh “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations. had visited his people in giving them bread.

⁶Da brød hun op med sine Sønnekoner for at vende hjem fra Moabiternes Land; thi hun havde hørt i Moabiternes Land, at HERREN havde set til sit Folk og givet dem Brød.

⁷She 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 to the land of Judah.

⁷Så drog hun sammen med sine to Sønnekoner bort fra det Sted, hvor hun havde opholdt sig, men på Hjemvejen til Judas Land

⁸Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house: Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead, and with me.

⁸sagde No'omi til sine to Sønnekoner: "Vend nu tilbage hver til sin Moders Hus! HERREN være barmhjertig imod eder, som I har været imod de døde og mig;

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

⁹HERREN give eder, at I må finde Ro, hver i sin Mands Hus!" Og hun kyssede dem. Men de gav sig til at græde højt

¹⁰They said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.”

¹⁰og sagde til hende: "Nej! vi vil følge dig hjem til dit Folk!"

¹¹Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

¹¹Men No'omi sagde: "Vend tilbage, mine Døtre! Hvorfor vil I drage med mig? Bærer jeg endnu Sønner i mit Skød, som kan blive eders Mænd?

¹²Go back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, ‘I have hope,’ if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons;

¹²Vend tilbage, mine Døtre, gå nu hjem, thi jeg er for gammel til at blive en Mands Hustru. Og selv om jeg tænkte, at jeg endnu havde Håb, selv om jeg endnu i Nat tilhørte en Mand og virkelig fødte Sønner,

¹³would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me much for your sakes, for the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me.”

¹³skulde I så derfor vente, til de blev voksne? Skulde I derfor stænge eder inde og leve ugifte? Nej, mine Døtre, det gør mig såre ondt for eder, thi mig har HERRENs Hånd ramt!"

¹⁴They lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth joined with her.

¹⁴De gav sig da igen til at græde højt, og Orpa kyssede sin Svigermoder, men Rut klyngede sig til hende.

¹⁵She said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.”

¹⁵Da sagde hun: "Se, din Svigerinde er vendt tilbage til sit Folk og sin Gud; vend du også tilbage og følg din Svigerinde!"

¹⁶Ruth said, “Don’t entreat me to leave you, and to return from following after you, for where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “Elohim.” my God;

¹⁶Men Rut svarede: "Nød mig ikke til at forlade dig og vende tilbage! Nej, hvor du går hen, der vil jeg gå hen, og hvor du tager Bolig, der vil jeg tage Bolig; dit Folk skal være mit Folk, og din Gud skal være min Gud;

¹⁷where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried. Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death part you and me.”

¹⁷hvor du dør, der vil jeg dø, og der vil jeg jordes. HERREN ramme mig både med det ene og det andet: Kun Døden skal skille os ad!"

¹⁸When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking to her.

¹⁸Da No'omi så, at det var hendes faste Vilje at drage med hende. holdt hun op at tale til hende derom,

¹⁹So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. It happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they asked, “Is this Naomi?”

¹⁹og de drog da videre sammen, indtil de kom til Betlehem. Men da de kom til Betlehem, blev der Røre i hele Byen, og Kvinderne sagde: "Er det No'omi?"

²⁰She said to them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

²⁰Men hun sagde til dem: "Kald mig ikke No'omi; kald mig Mara", thi den Almægtige har voldet mig megen bitter Smerte!

²¹I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty; why do you call me Naomi, since Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²¹Rig drog jeg herfra, og fattig har HERREN ført mig tilbage. Hvorfor kalder I mig No'omi, når HERREN har vidnet imod mig og den Almægtige tilskikket mig Ulykke?"

²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

²²Således vendte No'omi tilbage fra Moabiternes Land tillige med sin Sønnekone, Moabiterinden Rut, og de kom til Betlehem først på Byghøsten.