Deuteronomy 12

1 These ben the heestis and domes, whiche ye owen to do, in the lond which the Lord God of thi fadrys schal yyue to thee, that thou welde it, in alle daies in whiche thou schalt go on erthe.

These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to follow all the days you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess.

2 Distrie ye alle the places wherynne hethen men whiche ye schulen welde, worschipiden her goddis, on hiy mounteyns, and litle hillis, and vndur ech tre ful of bowis.

Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

3 Distrie ye `the auteris of hem, and `breke ye the ymagis; brenne ye the wodis with fier, and al to breke ye the idolis; destrie ye `the names of hem fro the places.

Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

4 Ye schulen not do so to youre Lord God;

You shall not worship the LORD your God in this way.

5 but ye schulen come to the place which youre Lord God chees of alle youre lynagis, that he putte his name there, and dwelle therynne;

Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.

6 and ye schulen come, and schulen offre in that place youre brent sacrifices, and slayn sacrifices, the dymes, and firste fruytis of youre hondis, and avowis and yiftis, the firste gendrid thingis of oxun, and of scheep.

To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

7 And ye and youre housis schulen ete there in the siyt of youre Lord God; and ye schulen be glad in alle thingis to whiche ye putten hond, in whiche youre Lord God blesside you.

There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

8 Ye schulen not do there tho thingis whiche we don here to dai, ech man that semeth riytful to `hym silf.

You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.

9 For `til in to present tyme ye camen not to reste and possessioun, which the Lord God schal yyue to you.

For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.

10 Ye schulen passe Jordan, and ye schulen dwelle in the lond which youre Lord God schal yyue to you, that ye reste fro alle enemyes `bi cumpas, and dwelle without ony drede.

When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,

11 In the place which youre Lord God chees that his name be therynne. Thidur ye schulen bere alle thingis, whiche Y comaunde, brent sacrifices, and sacrifices, and the dymes, and firste fruytis of youre hondis, and what euere is the beste in yiftis, whiche ye auowiden to the Lord.

then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.

12 Ther ye schulen ete bifor youre Lord God, ye, and youre sones and douytris, youre seruauntis, and seruauntessis, and the dekenes, that dwellen in youre citees; for thei han not other part and possessioun among you.

And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

13 Be thou war lest thou offre thi brent sacrifices in ech place which thou seest,

Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see;

14 but in that place which the Lord chees in oon of thi lynagis thou schalt offre sacrifices, and schalt do what euer thingis Y comaunde to thee.

you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.

15 Forsothe if thou wolt ete, and the etyng of fleischis delitith thee, sle thou, and ete, bi the blessyng of thi Lord God, which he yaf to thee in thi citees, whether it is vnclene, `that is, spottid ether wemmed and feble, ether clene, `that is, hool in membris and with out wem, which is leueful to be offrid, thou schalt ete as a capret and hert; oneli without etyng of blood,

But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer,

16 which thou schalt schede out as watir on the erthe.

but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

17 Thou schalt not mowe ete in thi citees the tithis of thi wheete, wyn, and oile, the firste gendrid thingis of droues, and of scheep, and alle thingis whiche thou hast avowid and wolt offre bi fre wille, and the firste fruytis of thin hondis;

Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.

18 but thou schalt ete tho bifor thi Lord God, in the place which thi Lord God chees, thou, and thi sone, and douyter, seruaunt, and seruauntesse, and the dekene that dwellith in thi citees; and thou schalt be glad, and schalt be fillid bifor thi Lord God in alle thingis to whiche thou holdist forth thin hond.

Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do,

19 Be thou war lest thou forsake the dekene in al tyme, `in which thou lyuest in erthe.

and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

20 Whanne thi Lord God hath alargid thi termes, as he spak to thee, and thou wolt ete fleischis, whiche thi soule desirith,

When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.

21 forsothe if the place is fer, which thi Lord God chees, that his name be there, thou schalt sle of thin oxun, and scheep, whiche thou hast, as `the Lord comaundide to thee; and thou schalt ete in thi citees as it plesith thee.

If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

22 As a capret and hert is etun, so thou schalt ete tho; bothe a cleene man and vncleene schulen ete therof in comyn.

Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.

23 Oneli eschewe thou this, that thou ete not blood; for the blood `of tho beestis is for the lijf, and therfor thou owist not ete the lijf with fleischis,

Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

24 but thou schalt schede as watir `the blood on the erthe,

You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

25 that it be wel to thee, and to thi sones after thee, whanne thou hast do that, that plesith in the siyt of the Lord.

Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

26 Sotheli thou schalt take that that thou `auowidist, and halewidist to the Lord, and thou schalt come to the place which the Lord chees;

But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.

27 and thou schalt offre thin offryngis, fleischis, and blood, on the auter of thi Lord God; thou schalt schede in the auter the blood of sacrifices; forsothe thou schalt ete the fleischis.

Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.

28 Kepe thou and here alle thingis whiche Y comaunde to thee, that it be wel to thee, and to thi sones after thee, with outen ende, whanne thou hast do that, that is good and plesaunt in the siyt of thi Lord God.

Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

29 Whanne thi Lord God hath distryed bifor thi face folkis, to whiche thou schalt entre to welde, and thou hast weldid tho folkis, and hast dwellid in `the lond of hem,

When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations you are entering to dispossess, and you drive them out and live in their land,

30 be thou war lest thou sue hem, aftir that thei ben distried, whanne thou entrist, and thou seke `the cerymonyes of hem, and seie, As these folkis worschipyden her goddis, so and Y schal worschipe.

be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”

31 Thou schalt not do in lijk manere to thi Lord God; for thei diden to her goddis alle abhomynaciouns whiche the Lord wlatith, and offriden her sones and douytris, and brenten with fier.

You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

32 Do thou to the Lord this thing oneli which Y comaunde to thee, nethir adde thou ony thing, nether abate.

See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.