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 rules and regulations you must make sure to follow the whole time you live in the land that the Lord, the God of your forefathers, has given you to own.

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.

You are to completely destroy all the pagan shrines where the nations you're driving out worshiped their gods: on the top of 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, knock down their idolatrous pillars, burn down their Asherah poles, and cut down the idols of their gods. Remove any trace of them from everywhere.

4 Ye schulen not do so to youre Lord God;

You are not to worship the Lord your God in the way that they did.

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;

No, you must go to the place the Lord your God will choose from the territory of all your tribes to set up a place where he will live with you. That's where 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.

You'll take there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and all your offerings—your freewill offerings and offerings to fulfill a promise, along with 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.

That's where, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families will eat and celebrate everything you've worked for, 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're not to do like we're doing here today. At the moment everyone does what they think is right,

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

because you haven't arrived in the land you will own that the Lord your God is giving you and where you will be at peace.

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.

After you cross the Jordan and settle down in the country that the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and he lets you rest from fighting all your enemies and you live in safety,

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 place where he will live with you. That's where you are to bring everything I've order you to do—your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and freewill offerings, and all the special gifts you promise to give 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.

You will celebrate there in the presence of the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levites living in your towns, because they don't have any share in the allotment of land.

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

Make sure you don't present your burnt offerings just anywhere you want.

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 are to offer them only in the place the Lord will choose in the territory of one of your tribes. That's where you are to do everything that I order you to do.

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,

Of course you can slaughter and eat meat wherever you are, anytime you want, depending on how much the Lord your God has blessed you. All of you, whether you're ceremonially clean or not, can it eat it just like you would a gazelle or a deer,

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

but you are not to eat the blood—pour that out on the ground.

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;

In your towns you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or olive oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you give to fulfill a promise, your freewill offerings, or your 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.

No, 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 male and female slaves, and the Levites living in your towns. Celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God in everything you do,

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

and make sure you don't forget about the Levites as the whole time 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 gives you more land as he promised, and you feel like some meat, and say, “I want to have some meat,” you may can 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 live with you is a long way away, then you can slaughter any animal from the herd or flock he has given you, following the regulations I have given you, and you can eat it in your town 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.

In fact you can eat it like you would eat a gazelle or deer—whether you're ceremonially clean or not, you can 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,

Just make sure you don't 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 out on the ground.

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.

Don't eat it, so that all will go well with you and your children, because you will be doing what is right in the Lord's sight.

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;

Take your holy sacrifices and the offerings to fulfill your vows 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 your burnt offerings, the meat and blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your other sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you are allowed to 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.

Make sure you obey everything I'm commanding you, so that it may always go well with you and your children, because you will be following what is good and right in the sight 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 destroys the nations ahead of you as you enter the country to possess, and you drive them out and settle down 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.

make sure you don't fall into the trap of following their ways after they have been destroyed right in front of you. Don't try and find out about their gods, asking, “I wonder how these people worship their gods? I'll do like they did.”

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 like this, because when they worship their gods they do every kind of abominable thing that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters 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.

Be careful to do everything I order you to do. Don't add or take away anything from these instructions.