Add parallel Print Page Options

Rute ndi Bowazi ku Malo Wopunthira Tirigu ndi Barele

Tsiku lina Naomi anafunsa mpongozi wake Rute kuti, “Mwana wanga, kodi si kwabwino kuti ndikupezere kokhala kuti zinthu zizikuyendera bwino? Bowazi amene adzakazi ake wakhala nawo nthawi yonseyi, si wachibale wathu kodi? Usiku uno akhala akupeta barele ku malo opunthira. Samba ndi kudzola mafuta onunkhira, ndipo uvale zovala zako zabwino kwambiri. Kenaka upite ku malo opunthirako tirigu ndi barele koma munthuyo asakakuzindikire kufikira atamaliza kudya ndi kumwa. Akamakagona, iwe ukaonetsetse malo amene wagonawo. Kenaka upite ndi kuvundukula chofunda ku mapazi ake ndi kugona. Iyeyo akakuwuza zoti uchite.”

Rute anayankha kuti, “Ndichita zonse zimene mwanena.”

Choncho Rute anapita ku malo opunthirawo ndipo anachita monga momwe apongozi ake anamuwuza.

Atamaliza kudya ndi kumwa, Bowazi anakhala wosangalala, ndipo anakagona pa mbali pa mulu wa barele. Tsono Rute anapita mwa kachetechete, navundukula chofunda ku mapazi ake ndi kugona.

Tsono pakati pa usiku Bowazi anadzidzimuka, natembenuka, ndipo anangoona mkazi akugona ku mapazi ake.

Iye anafunsa kuti, “Ndiwe yani?” Ndipo anayankha kuti, “Ndine mdzakazi wanu Rute. Popeza ndinu wachibale amene muyenera kundiwombola, ndiye mundilowe chokolo.”

10 Ndipo Bowazi anati, “Mwana wanga, Yehova akudalitse popeza kukoma mtima kumene wasonyeza panoku kwaposa koyamba kaja. Iwe sunathamangire anyamata olemera kapena osauka. 11 Ndipo tsopano mwana wanga usaope. Ine ndidzakuchitira chilichonse udzapemphe popeza anzanga onse amʼmudzi muno akudziwa kuti ndiwe mkazi wa khalidwe labwino. 12 Ngakhale kuti ndinedi wachibale woyenera kukusamala, koma alipo wachibale weniweni kuposa ine. 13 Gona konkuno usiku uno mpaka mmawa. Tsono ngati iyeyu adzakulowa chokolo, chabwino alowe. Koma ngati safuna kutero, ine ndikulumbira pamaso pa Yehova Wamoyo kuti ndidzakulowa chokolo. Ugone kuno mpaka mmawa.”

14 Choncho Rute anagona ku mapazi ake mpaka mmawa, koma anadzuka mmamawa kusanayere chifukwa Bowazi anati, “Aliyense asadziwe kuti kopondera barele kunabwera mkazi.”

15 Bowazi anati kwa Rute, “Bwera nacho kuno chofunda wavalacho ndipo uchiyale pansi.” Ndipo atayala, Bowazi anathira makilogalamu makumi awiri a barele ndi kumusenzetsa Rute. Rute anapita nakalowa mu mzinda.

16 Rute atafika kwa apongozi ake anamufunsa kuti, “Zinayenda bwanji mwana wanga?” Kenaka iye anafotokoza zonse zimene Bowazi anamuchitira.

17 Ndipo anati, “Munthuyo anandipatsa makilogalamu makumi awiri awa a barele, nandiwuza kuti usapite kwa apongozi ako wopanda kanthu.”

18 Kenaka Naomi anati, “Mwana wanga, dikira mpaka titaona mmene zinthu zikhalire chifukwa munthuyu salekera pomwepo, mpaka zinthuzi zitakonzeka lero.”

Ruth Proposes Marriage at the Threshing Floor

Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I seek security[a] for you so that you will be well taken care of? Isn’t Boaz, whose young women you have been with, our relative? Look, he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. So bathe, put on perfume, and dress up. Then go down to the threshing floor. Do not present yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, take note of the place where he lies down. Then go up to him, uncover his legs, and lie down there. He himself will tell you what you should do.”

Ruth said to her, “All that you say to me, I will do!” So she went down to the threshing floor, and she did everything that her mother-in-law had commanded her to do.

After Boaz ate and drank, and his heart was happy, he went to lie down at the edge of the grain pile. Then Ruth came up to him quietly, and she uncovered his legs and lay down there. In the middle of the night, the man was startled[b] and turned over, and there was a woman lying on his legs![c]

He said, “Who are you?”

She said, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread out the skirt of your robe[d] over your servant, for you are a family redeemer.”

10 Then he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter! You have made your last act of kindness better than the first by not going to look for a young man, whether poor or rich. 11 So now, my daughter, do not be afraid. I will do everything that you are asking. Indeed, all the people at the city gate[e] know that you are an honorable woman. 12 Now it is indeed true—certainly I am a family redeemer—but nevertheless there is a redeemer who is closer than I am. 13 Spend the night here. If in the morning he acts as a redeemer for you, good. Let him redeem. But if he does not want to act as a redeemer for you, then I will act as a redeemer for you myself, as the Lord lives! Lie down here until morning.”

14 So she lay down at his feet until morning. She got up before it was light enough for anyone to recognize a person.

But Boaz thought, “No one should know that a woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 So he said, “Come here and hold out the shawl that you are wearing.” So she held it out. He measured out six scoops[f] of barley into it for her to carry home. Then he[g] returned to town.

16 When Ruth came back to her mother-in-law, Naomi said, “How did it turn out, my daughter?”

Then Ruth told her all that the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these six scoops of barley, and he said, ‘You must not return to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of this matter today!”

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 3:1 Or a place of rest
  2. Ruth 3:8 Or shivered
  3. Ruth 3:8 Or by his legs
  4. Ruth 3:9 Or, with an alternate Hebrew reading, spread out your wings
  5. Ruth 3:11 The gatehouse of the city was where people met for legal and social interaction.
  6. Ruth 3:15 The Hebrew text simply reads six ___ of barley with no measure stated. The measure is probably the seah. Six seahs would be about 1.2 bushels. A bushel is eight gallons; perhaps as much as fifty pounds.
  7. Ruth 3:15 Hebrew variant she