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.

And these [are] the ordinances and the judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you for an inheritance, all the days which ye live upon the land.

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.

Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which they served their gods, whose [land] ye inherit, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under the thick 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.

And ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods, and ye shall abolish their name out of that place.

4 Ye schulen not do so to youre Lord God;

Ye shall not do so to the Lord your God.

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;

But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose in one of your cities to name his name there, and to be called upon, ye shall even seek [him] out and go thither.

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.

And ye shall carry thither your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your first-fruits, and your vowed-offerings, and your freewill-offerings, and your offerings of thanksgiving, the first-born of your herds, and of your 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.

And ye shall eat there before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all the things on which ye shall lay your hand, ye and your houses, as 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.

Ye shall not do altogether as we do here to-day, every man that which is pleasing in his own sight.

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

For hitherto ye have not arrived at the rest and the inheritance, which the Lord our God gives 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.

And ye shall go over Jordan, and shall dwell in the land, which the Lord our God takes as an inheritance for you; and he shall give you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye shall dwell safely.

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.

And there shall be a place which the Lord thy God shall choose for his name to be called there, thither shall ye bring all things that I order you to-day; your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands, and every choice gift of yours, whatsoever ye shall vow to the Lord your God.

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 ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is at your gates; because he has no portion or inheritance with you.

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

Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy whole-burnt-offerings in any place which thou shalt 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.

save in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, in one of thy tribes, there shall ye offer your whole-burnt-offerings, and there shalt thou do all things whatsoever I charge thee this day.

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 thou shalt kill according to all thy desire, and shalt eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he has given thee in every city; the unclean that is within thee and the clean shall eat it on equal terms, as the doe or the stag.

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

Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it out on the ground as 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;

Thou shalt not be able to eat in thy cities the tithe of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thine oil, the first-born of thine herd and of thy flock, and all [your] vows as many as ye shall have vowed, and your thank-offerings, and the first-fruits of thine hands.

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.

But before the Lord thy God thou shalt eat it, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the stranger that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, on whatsoever thou shalt lay thine hand.

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

Take heed to thyself that thou do not desert the Levite all the time that thou livest upon the earth.

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

And if the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy borders, as he said to thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; if thy soul should desire to eat flesh, thou shalt eat flesh according to all the desire of thy soul.

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.

And if the place be far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, that his name be called upon it, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which God shall have given thee, even as I commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy cities according to the desire of thy soul.

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

As the doe and the stag are eaten, so shalt thou eat it; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner.

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,

Take diligent heed that thou eat no blood, for blood [is] the life of it; the life shall not be eaten with the flesh.

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

Ye shall not eat [it]; ye shall pour it out on the ground as 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.

Thou shalt not eat it, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee, if thou shalt do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God.

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 thou shalt take thy holy things, if thou hast any, and thy vowed-offerings, and come to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name named upon it.

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.

And thou shalt sacrifice thy whole-burnt-offerings, thou shalt offer the flesh upon the altar of the Lord thy God; but the blood of thy sacrifices thou shalt pour out at the foot of the altar of the Lord thy God, but the flesh thou shalt eat.

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.

Beware and hearken, and thou shalt do all the commands which I charge thee, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons for ever, if thou shalt do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord thy 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,

And if the Lord thy God shall utterly destroy the nations, to whom thou goest in thither to inherit their land, from before thee, and thou shalt inherit it, and dwell 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.

take heed to thyself that thou seek not to follow them after they are destroyed before thee, saying, How do these nations act towards 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.

Thou shalt not do so to thy God; for they have sacrificed to their gods the abominations of the Lord which he hates, for they burn their sons and their daughters in fire to their gods.

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

Every word that I command you this day, it shalt thou observe to do: thou shalt not add to it, nor diminish from it.