In the days of one of the judges, when the judges ruled, there came a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Juda went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
And the Lord said to Samuel: How It long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
Then all the people that were in the gate, and the ancients answered: We are witnesses. The Lord make this woman who cometh into thy house, like Rachel, and Lia, who built up the house of Israel: that she may be an example of virtue in Ephrata, and may have a famous name in Bethlehem.
So they went together and came to Bethlehem. And when they were come into the city, the report was quickly spread among all: and the women said: This is that Noemi.