Ruti unoshinga mu nnda wa Bhoazi
1 Naomi wakabe ana gamu le ludzi gwe nlume uwe Elimeleki liyi Bhoazi, akafuma kakale ana ntutshi. 2 Ruti we N'moabu kadwa Naomi kati, “Imani ndinonunga mamburumburu shule kwe bavuni kuna unowobe andihwila ngoni.” Naomi kabe eti kunli, “Yenda mwanangu.” 3 Ngono kayenda kanotangisa kununga mamburumburu shule kwe bavuni mu nnda. Kukashingikala kuti azwiwane eshinga mu nnda wa Bhoazi wakabe ali we ludzi gwa Elimeleki. 4 Bhoazi kazha edwa ku Bhetelehema ngono kati ku bavuni, “Yahwe ngababe namwi!” Bavuni bakashandula beti, “Yahwe ngabamukombolele!” 5 Ipapo Bhoazi kabhuzwa nlanda uwe wakabe ali nlingi we bavuni kati, “Mwanadi iwoyu nge waani?”
6 Nlingi we bavuni kadabila eti, “Mwanadi we N'moabu wakabuya na Naomi edwa ku shango ye Moabu. 7 Wati kati, ‘Ndokumbila kununga mamburumburu asala shule kwe bavuni.’ Tjinga kwaazha mangwanana kashinga kuswikila ngwenu, aazotongo nyaluluka ne kutukununu kose.”
8 Ipapo Bhoazi kadwa Ruti kati, “Tjihwilila mwanangu, usitongo yenda ukanonunga ku nnda we mmwe usiya iwoyu, koga sala shule baanadi bangu. 9 Mesho awo ngaalambile mu nnda wabanovuna, ubasale shule. Ndabudza bazhuzha, kuti basitongo kuti tjimwe. Ha ungabhakhwa nge nyota uyende pa hali ung'we vula yatjegwa ne bazhuzha.”
10 Ipapo Ruti kathigama kazwiyisa pasi ngokotamila pasi eti kunli, “Ini tjayita kuti mundihwile ngoni, mundiyitile hanya ipapa imi ndili ntaya?”
11 Koga Bhoazi kanshandula eti, “Kose kwawakashingila mmezwale babo nlume uwo asinofa, ndakakubudziwa nge buzhalo, ne sekwa wakasiya tate babo na mmeyabo ne shango ya kanyi kwenyu uzha ku bathu bausakatongo ziba. 12 Yahwe ngabakupe mbhayilo we mishingo iyo, uwane mbhayilo uzhele muna Yahwe, Ndzimu we Iziraela, iwo wawawana dizhilo kusi kwe mapapilo awo.”
13 Ipapo Ruti kashandula eti, “Dwililani mundihwile ngoni, she wangu, ngoti mandinyaladza mukalebeleka nge buthu nami nlandakadzi wenyu, nenguba ndisingafanane ne mmwe we balandakadzi benyu.”
14 Nge tjibaka tje zojiwa zwe masikati Bhoazi kandwa kati, “Izha ngeno uje zojiwa usebe ne nkumbi unoshababa.” Ndizo kagala kubapa ne bavuni, ngono kabe empa mathunde akakangiwa. Kaja kaguta kasiya mamwe. 15 Kati womilika kunonunga, Bhoazi kadwa bazhuzha babe kati, “Munletje anunge ne pakati pe zwishwa zwe bhali izwezwi zwimile, musindzibile. 16 Mushomole misholo mimwe mu zwishwa munsiyile iyo kuti anunge, musindzibile.”
17 Ndizo kanunga mu nnda kuswikila madekwana. Ipapo kashokola zwaakanunga, ngono kukalizana makabha mabili e bhali. 18 Kasenga kazha nawo ku nzi. Mmezwale babe bakabona kuti wanunga kungapani. Ruti katola mathunde akakangiwa abe eja ngono kasiya kabapabo. 19 Mmezwale babe bakambhuzwa bakati, “Washwa ununga ngayi nasi? Washinga ngayi? Ngaakombolegwe nthu wakuyitila hanya!”
Ruti kabudza mmezwale babe nthu waashwa ashinga kunli kati, “Zina le nthu wandashwa ndashinga kunli loyi Bhoazi.”
20 Ipapo Naomi kati ku nlongo uwe, “Ngaakombolegwe ndi Yahwe, ibo bana lubu gusakatongo siya batjili kene bafi!” Naomi kapapha eti kunli, “Nthu iwoyo ludzi naswi, mmwe we bapejo naswi mu thaka.”
21 Ruti we N'moabu kabe eti, “Wabuya kandidwa kati, ‘Ube ne balanda bangu kuswikila bepedza kuvuna.’ ”
22 Naomi kabe eti ku nlongo uwe, “Koyita mwanangu, kuti uyende ne baanadi babe, pamwe mu minda ipoga balume bangakudziyidza.” 23 Ndizo kalambila pejo ne baanadi ba Bhoazi enunga kuswikila kuvuna mathunde e bhali ne korong kupela, egala na mmezwale babe.
Ruth Meets Boaz
1-3 One day, Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me see if I can find someone who will let me pick up the grain left in the fields by the harvest workers.”
Naomi answered, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So immediately Ruth went out to pick up grain in a field. She didn't know it was owned by Boaz, a relative of Naomi's husband Elimelech, as well as a rich and important man.
4 When Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and went out to his field, he said to the harvest workers, “The Lord bless you!”
They replied, “And may the Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz asked the man in charge of the harvest workers, “Who is that young woman?”
6 The man answered, “She is the one who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She asked if she could pick up grain left by the harvest workers, and she has been working all morning without a moment's rest.”
8 Boaz went over to Ruth and said, “I think it would be best for you not to pick up grain in anyone else's field. Stay here with the women 9 and follow along behind them, as they gather up what the men have cut. I have warned the men not to bother you, and whenever you are thirsty, you can drink from their water jars.”
10 Ruth bowed down to the ground and said, “You know I come from another country. Why are you so good to me?”
11 Boaz answered, “I've heard how you've helped your mother-in-law ever since your husband died. You even left your own father and mother to come and live in a foreign land among people you don't know. 12 I pray that the Lord God of Israel will reward you for what you have done. And now that you have come to him for protection, I pray that he will bless you.”
13 Ruth replied, “Sir, it's good of you to speak kindly to me and make me feel so welcome. I'm not even one of your servants.”
14 At mealtime Boaz said to Ruth, “Come, eat with us. Have some bread and dip it in the sauce.” At once she sat down with the workers, and Boaz handed her some roasted grain. Ruth ate all she wanted and had some left over.
15 When Ruth left to start picking up grain, Boaz told his men, “Don't stop her, even if she picks up grain from where it is stacked. 16 Be sure to pull out some stalks of grain from the bundles and leave them on the ground for her. And don't speak harshly to her!”
17 Ruth worked in the field until evening. Then after she had pounded the grain off the stalks, she had a large basket full of grain. 18 She took the grain to town and showed Naomi how much she had picked up. Ruth also gave her the food left over from her lunch.
19 Naomi said, “Where did you work today? Whose field was it? God bless the man who treated you so well!” Then Ruth told her that she had worked in the field of a man named Boaz.
20 “The Lord bless Boaz!” Naomi replied. “He has shown that he is still loyal to the living and to the dead. Boaz is a close relative, one of those who is supposed to look after us.”
21 Ruth told her, “Boaz even said I could stay in the field with his workers until they had finished harvesting all his grain.”
22 Naomi replied, “My daughter, it's good that you can pick up grain alongside the women who work in his field. Who knows what might happen to you in someone else's field!” 23 And so, Ruth stayed close to the women, while picking up grain in his field.
Ruth worked in the fields until the barley and wheat were harvested. And all this time she lived with Naomi.