1Na-aumis muaj ib tug kwvtij npe hu ua Npau-am uas yog ib tug neeg npluanuj thiab sawvdaws hwm, nws yog Na-aumis tus txiv Elimelej tsevneeg. 2Muaj ib hnub Luv hais rau Na-aumis hais tias, “Thov koj cia kuv mus nram luag tej teb thiab mus khaws tej nplej uas cov neeg hlais nplej ua poob. Kuv cia siab hais tias kuv yuav mus ntsib tus uas kam cia kuv khaws nws tej nplej.” Na-aumis teb hais tias, “Me nyab, koj mus los tau.” 3Yog li ntawd, Luv thiaj mus nram teb thiab raws cov neeg hlais nplej qab, khaws tej hnab nplej uas cov hlais ua poob. Nws txawm mus ncaj rau hauv Npau-am uas yog Elimelej tus kwvtij thaj teb. 4Tom qab ntawd Npau-am txawm tuaj hauv Npelehees tuaj txog thiab hais rau cov neeg hlais nplej hais tias, “Thov tus TSWV nrog nraim nej nyob.” Lawv teb hais tias, “Thov tus TSWV foom koob hmoov rau koj.” 5Npau-am nug tus uas saib cov neeg hlais nplej ntawd hais tias, “Tus pojniam hluas ntawd yog leejtwg?” 6Tus txivneej ntawd teb hais tias, “Tus pojniam ntawd yog neeg txawv tebchaws, nws nrog Na-aumis los nram tebchaws Mau-am los. 7Nws tuaj thov kuv cia nws raws cov neeg hlais nplej qab thiab khaws tej hnab nplej uas poob. Nws twb tuaj ua haujlwm puag tagkis no sawv ntxov los lawm, nws nyuam quav los so ib pliag hauv tsev pheebsuab no xwb.” 8Npau-am hais rau Luv hais tias, “Tus ntxhais koj mloog kuv hais, koj tsis txhob mus khaws nplej hauv lwm tus thaj teb, koj cia li khaws raws kuv cov ntxhais qhev qab nyob hauv kuv thaj teb no xwb; 9koj saib lawv hlais nplej qhov twg koj cia li khaws qhov ntawd. Kuv twb hais rau cov txivneej lawm, kom lawv tsis txhob los zes koj. Thiab thaum twg koj nqhis dej, cia li mus haus hauv tej hub uas lawv ntim dej puv nkaus rau lawm.” 10Luv txhos caug ntua nyo ua ntsejmuag ti nkaus hauv av, thiab hais rau Npau-am hais tias, “Vim li cas koj yuav hmov tshua kuv ua luaj? Vim li cas koj yuav ua siab dawb rau tus neeg txawv tebchaws tas npaum li?” 11Npau-am teb hais tias, “Kuv tau hnov txhua yam uas koj tau ua zoo rau koj niampog txij thaum koj tus txiv tuag los lawm. Kuv paub hais tias koj tau tso koj niam koj txiv thiab koj lub tebchaws tseg thiab los nrog cov neeg uas koj ibtxwm tsis tau paub dua li nyob. 12Thov kom tus TSWV pauj txiaj ntsig rau tej uas koj tau ua zoo tas los lawm. Thov kom koj tau txais koob hmoov nplua mias los ntawm tus TSWV uas yog cov Yixalayees tus Vajtswv uas koj los vamkhom.” 13Luv teb hais tias, “Koj ua siab dawb kawg li rau kuv. Txawm yog kuv twb tsis muaj nqis npaum li koj ib tug ntxhais qhev los koj tseem ua rau kuv zoo siab heev vim koj hais tej lus mos lus muag rau kuv.” 14Thaum lub sijhawm noj mov Npau-am hais rau Luv hais tias, “Koj cia li los muab mov thiab zaub noj.” Yog li ntawd, Luv thiaj nrog cov neeg ua haujlwm noj mov ua ke thiab Npau-am faib tej ncuav nplej rau Luv noj. Nws noj tsau thiab tseem tshuav tej zaub mov seem. 15-16Tom qab uas noj mov tas thiab yuav rov mus khaws hnab nplej, Npau-am hais rau cov ua haujlwm hais tias, “Cia nws mus khaws tej hnab nplej, txawm yog cov uas poob ntawm qhov chaw uas tso tej tes nplej los nej tsis txhob txwv nws li. Dua li ntawd, nej yuav tsum rho tej hnab nplej ntawm tej tes nplej uas nej hlais tso rau nws khaws thiab.” 17Yog li ntawd, Luv thiaj khaws tej hnab nplej hauv thaj teb ntawd mus txog thaum tsaus ntuj thiab nws coj los ntaus tau ib kawg. 18Nws thiaj ris cov nplej ntawd los rau hauv nroog thiab coj los qhia rau nws niampog hais tias, hnub no kuv mus khaws tau nplej npaum li no. Thiab nws muab tej zaub mov uas nws noj sus tsis tas rau nws niampog noj. 19Na-aumis nug Luv hais tias, “Hnub no koj mus khaws tej nplej no qhov twg los? Koj mus ua haujlwm hauv leejtwg thaj teb? Thov Vajtswv foom koob hmoov rau tus txivneej uas ua siab dawb rau koj!” Yog li ntawd, Luv thiaj qhia rau Na-aumis paub qhov uas nws mus khaws tej nplej ntawd hauv ib tug txivneej uas hu ua Npau-am thaj teb. 20Na-aumis thiaj hais tias, “Thov tus TSWV foom koob hmoov rau Npau-am, tus TSWV yeej ua raws li nws tej lus cog tseg rau cov neeg uas tseem ua neej nyob thiab cov uas tuag lawm.” Thiab nws hais ntxiv hais tias, “Tus txivneej ntawd yog ib tug uas txheeb ze wb heev, nws yog ib tus uas muaj cuabkav pab tau wb.” 21Ces Luv hais tias, “Zoo kawg li, nws tseem hais rau kuv kom kuv rau siab ntso mus khaws tej hnab nplej hauv nws thaj teb mus txog thaum nws cov neeg sau nplej tas.” 22Na-aumis hais rau Luv hais tias, “Me nyab, yog koj mus khaws nplej nrog Npau-am cov ntxhais qhev hauv nws thaj teb ntshai yuav zoo dua. Yog koj mus khaws hauv lwm tus thaj teb, ntshai luag yuav saib tsis taus koj.” 23Yog li ntawd, Luv thiaj nrog lawv mus khaws tej hnab nplej mus txog thaum hlais nplej tas thiab sau tej qoob tas lawm. Thiab Luv tseem nrog nws niampog nyob.
2
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
1Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. 2And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. 4Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. 5Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” 6The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” 8So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” 10At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” 11Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13“May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” 14At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” 17So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.⚓18She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 19Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 20“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.⚓ ” 21Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’ ” 22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.” 23So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.