RUTH AND NAOMI.

others, Elimelech removed with his
family to the country of Moab, situated
beyond the river Jordan, to the east of
the Dead Sea. He settled there, and
his affairs prospered so well, that he
chose wives for his sons from among
the Moabites; for the young people
in the east never choose wives or hus-
bands for themselves, but take those
selected for them by their parents, and
sometimes they do not see each other
until the day they are married. The
bride of the elder son, Mahlon, was
named Ruth, and the bride of Chilion,
Orpah; and they both came to live
with the parents of their husbands, as
young wives always did then, and still
often do, in those countries.

At length, however, the father and
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