וַיְהִ֗י בִּימֵי֙ שְׁפֹ֣ט הַשֹּׁפְטִ֔ים וַיְהִ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ אִ֜ישׁ מִבֵּ֧ית לֶ֣חֶם יְהוּדָ֗ה לָגוּר֙ בִּשְׂדֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב ה֥וּא וְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ וּשְׁנֵ֥י בָנָֽיו׃
Noong mga araw na ang mga hukom ang namamahala, nagkaroon ng taggutom sa lupain. At isang lalaki mula sa Bethlehem ng Juda ang umalis upang pansamantalang manirahan sa parang ng Moab, siya, ang kanyang asawa at ang kanyang dalawang anak na lalaki.
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
We read in our Parshah (22,27) אלוהים לא תקלל. The Midrash's connection with our Parshah is now clear.Once the rebellious palace guard in our parable, or Job in the counterpart, saw that the king, i.e. G–d, played no favourites, punished the aristocrats as well as ordinary mortals without regard to their station in life, his fear, i.e. respect for G–d, became real.