World English Bible · The judges
Ruth 1
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In the days when the judges judged, there was a in the land. A certain man of Judah went to live in the country of with his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was , and the name of his wife . The names of his two sons were and , Ephrathites of Judah. They came into the country of and lived there. , husband, ; and she was left with her two sons. They took for themselves wives of the women of . The name of the one was , and the name of the other was . They lived there about ten years. and both , and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of ; for she had heard in the country of how had visited his people in giving them bread. She went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her. They went on to return to the land of Judah. said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with and with me. May 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 voices, and wept. They said to her, "No, but we will return with you to your people." said, "Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my , that they may be your husbands? Go back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, 'I have ,' if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me seriously for your sakes, for hand has gone out against me." They lifted up their voices and wept again; then kissed her mother-in-law, but stayed with her. She said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her . Follow your sister-in-law." said, "Don't urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your my . Where you , I will , and there I will be buried. May do so to me, and more also, if anything but parts you and me." When saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So they both went until they came to . When they had come to , all the city was excited about them, and they asked, "Is this ?" She said to them, "Don't call me . Call me , for has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me , since has testified against me, and has afflicted me?" So returned, and the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of . They came to of barley harvest.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The judges, 1200 BC to 1050 BC ›
No central government and no standing army. The great empires are weak, which is precisely why Israel's troubles come from close neighbors: Moab, Ammon, Midian, and the newly arrived Philistines on the coast.
- Egypt
- Broken into competing power centres and no longer able to project force into Canaan. Its withdrawal is the single biggest reason this period has no imperial overlord.
- Mesopotamia
- Assyria exists but is dormant, hemmed in and looking east. The century that would have crushed a stateless Israel simply has not arrived yet.
- The coast
- The Philistines settle their five cities after arriving from the Aegean world, bringing Mycenaean-style pottery, a taste for pork, and an early advantage in ironworking. Further north the Phoenician ports of Tyre and Sidon start the trading expansion that will eventually give the alphabet to Greece.
- Further afield
- Greece has entered its dark age: the palaces are gone, Linear B is forgotten, and writing disappears from the Aegean for three centuries. In China the Zhou dynasty replaces the Shang in 1046 BC and issues the doctrine that heaven withdraws its mandate from unjust kings, an idea with an interesting resemblance to the book of Judges.