Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words, which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the plain wilderness, over against the Red Sea, between Pharan and Thophel and Laban and Haseroth, where there is very much gold:

These ben the wordis whiche Moyses spak to al Israel ouer Jordan, in the wildirnesse of the feeld, ayens the reed see, bitwix Pharan and Tophel and Laban and Asseroth, where is ful myche gold,

2 Eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Cadesbarne.

by enleuene daies fro Oreb bi the weie of the hil of Seir, til to Cades Barne.

3 In the fortieth year, the eleventh month, the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel all that the Lord had commanded him to say to them:

In the fortithe yeer, in the enleuenth monethe, in the firste dai of the monethe, Moises spak to the sones of Israel alle thingis whiche the Lord commandide to hym that he schulde seie to hem,

4 After that he had slain Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon: and Og king of Basan who abode in Astaroth, and in Edrai,

after that he smoot Seon, kyng of Ammorreis, that dwellide in Esebon, and Og, the kyng of Basan, that dwelide in Asseroth and in Edray, ouer Jordan, in the lond of Moab.

5 Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab. And Moses began to expound the law, and to say:

And Moyses bigan to declare the lawe, and to seie,

6 The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: You have stayed long enough in this mountain:

Oure Lord God spak to vs in Oreb, and seide, It suffisith to you that ye han dwellid in this hil;

7 Turn you, and come to the mountain of the Amorrhites, and to the other places that are next to it, the plains and the hills and the vales towards the south, and by the sea shore, the land of the Chanaanites, and of Libanus, as far as the great river Euphrates.

turne ye ayen, and come ye to the hil of Amorreis, and to othere placis that ben next it; to places of feeldis, and of hillis, and to lowere places ayens the south, and bisidis the brenke of the see, to the lond of Cananeys, and of Liban, `til to the greet flood Eufrates.

8 Behold, said he, I have delivered it to you: go in and possess it, concerning which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their seed after them.

Lo, `he seith, Y haue youe to you; entre ye, and `welde ye `that lond on which the Lord swoor to youre fadrys, Abraham, Ysaac, and Jacob, that he schulde yyue it to hem, and to her seed after hem.

9 And I said to you at that time:

And Y seide to you in that time, Y may not aloone susteyne you, for youre Lord God hath multiplied you,

10 I alone am not able to bear you: for the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and you are this day as the stars of heaven, for multitude.

and ye ben ful many to dai, as the sterris of heuene;

11 (The Lord God of your fathers add to this number many thousands, and bless you as he hath spoken.)

the Lord God of youre fadris adde to this noumbre many thousyndis, and blesse you, as he spak.

12 I alone am not able to bear your business, and the charge of you and your differences.

Y may not aloone susteyne youre causis, and birthun, and stryues; yyue ye of you men wise `in dyuyn thingis,

13 Let me have from among you wise and understanding men, and such whose conversation is approved among your tribes, that I may appoint them your rulers.

and witti `in mennus thingis worthi to be don, whose conuersacioun is preued in youre lynagis, that Y sette hem princes to you.

14 Then you answered me: The thing is good which thou meanest to do.

Thanne ye answeriden to me, The thing is good which thou wolt do.

15 And I took out of your tribes men wise and honourable, and appointed them rulers, tribunes, and centurions, and officers over fifties, and over tens, who might teach you all things.

And Y took of youre lynagis men wise and noble, `in vertues and kyn; and Y ordeynede hem princis, tribunes, and centuryouns, and quynquagenaries, and denys, whiche schulden teche you all thingis.

16 And I commanded them, saying: Hear them, and judge that which is just: whether he be one of your country, or a stranger.

And Y comaundide to hem, and seide, Here ye hem, and deme ye that that is iust, whether he be a citeseyn, whether a pilgrym.

17 There shall be no difference of persons, you shall hear the little as well as the great: neither shall you respect any man’s person, because it is the judgment of God. And if any thing seem hard to you, refer it to me, and I will hear it.

No difference schal be of persones; ye schulen here so a litil man, `that is, pore, as a greet man, nether ye schulen take the persoone of ony man, for it is the doom of God. That if ony thing semeth hard to you, telle ye to me, and Y schal here.

18 And I commanded you all things that you were to do.

And Y comaundide alle thingis whiche ye ouyten to do.

19 And departing from Horeb, we passed through the terrible and vast wilderness, which you saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorrhite, as the Lord our God had commanded us. And when we were come into Cadesbarne,

Forsothe we yeden forth fro Oreb, and passiden bi a feerdful deseert, and grettiste wildirnesse, which ye sien, bi the weye of the hil of Ammorrey, as oure Lord God comaundide to vs. And whanne we hadden come in to Cades Barne,

20 I said to you: You are come to the mountain of the Amorrhite, which the Lord our God will give to us.

Y seide to you, Ye ben comen to the hil of Ammorrey, which youre Lord God schal yyue to you;

21 See the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord our God hath spoken to thy fathers: fear not, nor be any way discouraged.

se thou the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee; `stie thou, and welde it, as oure Lord God spak to thi fadris; `nyle thou drede, nether `drede thou in herte ony thing.

22 And you came all to me, and said: Let us send men who may view the land, and bring us word what way we shall go up, and to what cities we shall go.

And alle ye neiyiden to me, and ye seiden, Sende we men, that schulen biholde the lond, and telle to vs bi what weye we owen stie, and to whiche citees we owen to go.

23 And because the saying pleased me, I sent of you twelve men, one of every tribe:

And whanne the word pleside to me, Y sente of you twelue men, of ech lynage oon.

24 Who, when they had set forward and had gone up to the mountains, came as far as the valley of the cluster: and having viewed the land,

And whanne thei hadden go, and hadden stied in to the hilli places, thei camen `til to the valei of Clustre; and whanne thei hadden biholde the lond,

25 Taking of the fruits thereof, to shew its fertility, they brought them to us, and said: The land is good, which the Lord our God will give us.

thei token of the fruytis therof, to schewe the plentee, and brouyten `to vs, and seiden, The lond is good which oure Lord God schal yyue to vs.

26 And you would not go up, but being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,

And ye `nolden stie, but ye weren vnbileueful to the word of oure Lord God.

27 You murmured in your tents, and said: The Lord hateth us, and therefore he hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorrhite, and destroy us.

And ye grutchiden in youre tabernaclis, and ye seiden, The Lord hatith vs, and herfor he ledde vs out of the lond of Egipt, that he schulde bitake vs in the hond of Ammorey, and schulde do awei vs.

28 Whither shall we go up? the messengers have terrified our hearts, saying: The multitude is very great, and taller than we: the cities are great, and walled up to the sky, we have seen the sons of the Enacims there.

Whidur schulen we stie? the messangeris maden aferd oure herte, and seiden, A grettiste multitude is, and largere in stature than we; the citees ben greete, and wallid `til to the heuene; we sien there the sones of Enachym, that is, giauntis.

29 And I said to you: Fear not, neither be ye afraid of them:

And Y seide to you, `Nyle ye drede `with ynne, nether `drede withoutforth; the Lord God hym silf,

30 The Lord God, who is your leader, himself will fight for you, as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.

which is youre ledere, schal fiyte for you, as he dide in Egipt, while alle men sien.

31 And in the wilderness (as thou hast seen) the Lord thy God hath carried thee, as a man is wont to carry his little son, all the way that you have come, until you came to this place.

And ye sien in the wildirnesse, thi Lord God bar thee, as a man is wont to bere his litil sone, in al the weie bi which ye yeden til ye camen to this place.

32 And yet for all this you did not believe the Lord your God,

And sotheli nether so ye bileueden to youre Lord God, that yede bifor you in the weie,

33 Who went before you in the way, and marked out the place, wherein you should pitch your tents, in the night shewing you the way by fire, and in the day by the pillar of a cloud.

and mesuride the place in which ye ouyten to sette tentis, and schewide in nyyt the weie to you bi fier, and in dai bi a piler of cloude.

34 And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, he was angry and swore, and said:

And whanne the Lord hadde herd the vois of youre wordis, he was wrooth,

35 Not one of the men of this wicked generation shall see the good land, which I promised with an oath to your fathers:

and swoor, and seide, Noon of the men of this werste generacioun schal se the good lond, which Y bihiyte vndur an ooth to youre fadris,

36 Except Caleb the son of Jephone: for he shall see it, and to him I will give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath followed the Lord.

outakun Caleph, the sone of Jephone; for he schal se it, and Y schal yyue to hym the lond on which he trad, and to hise sones, for he suede the Lord.

37 Neither is his indignation against the people to be wondered at, since the Lord was angry with me also on your account, and said: Neither shalt thou go in thither.

Nether the indignacioun ayens the puple is wondirful, sithen the Lord was wrooth also to me for you, and seide,

38 But Josue the son of Nun, thy minister, he shall go in for thee: exhort and encourage him, and he shall divide the land by lot to Israel.

Nether thou schalt entre thidur, but Josue, the sone of Nun, thi mynystre, he schal entre for thee; excyte and strengthe thou him, and he schal departe the lond bi lot to Israel.

39 Your children, of whom you said that they should be led away captives, and your sons who know not this day the difference of good and evil, they shall go in: and to them I will give the land, and they shall possess it.

Youre litle children, of whiche ye seiden, that thei schulden be led prisoneris, and the sones that kunnen not to dai the diuersite of good and of yuel, thei schulen entre; and Y schal yyue to hem the lond, and thei schulen welde it.

40 But return you and go into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

Sotheli turne ye ayen, and go ye in to the wildirnesse, bi the weie of the Reed See.

41 And you answered me: We have sinned against the Lord: we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God hath commanded. And when you went ready armed unto the mountain,

And ye answeriden to me, We synneden to the Lord; we schulen stie, and we schulen fiyte, as oure Lord God comaundide. And whanne ye weren arayed with armeris, and yeden `into the hil, the Lord seide to me,

42 The Lord said to me: Say to them: Go not up, and fight not, for I am not with you: lest you fall before your enemies.

Seie thou to hem, `Nyle ye stye, nether fiyte ye, for Y am not with you, lest ye fallen bifor youre enemyes.

43 I spoke, and you hearkened not: but resisting the commandment of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you went up into the mountain.

Y spak, and ye herden not; but ye `weren aduersaries to the comaundement of the Lord, and bolnden with prijde, and stieden in to the hil.

44 And the Amorrhite that dwelt in the mountains coming out, and meeting you, chased you, as bees do: and made slaughter of you from Seir as far as Horma.

Therfor Ammorrey yede out, that dwellide in the hillis, and he cam ayens you, and pursuede you, as bees ben wont to pursue, and killide fro Seir til Horma. And whanne ye turneden ayen,

45 And when you returned and wept before the Lord, he heard you not, neither would he yield to; your voice.

and wepten bifor the Lord, he herde not you, nether wolde asente to youre vois;

46 So you abode in Cadesbarne a long time.

therfor ye saten in Cades Barne bi myche tyme.