Deuteronomy 13
1 If a prophete risith in the myddis of thee, ethir he that seith hym silf to haue seyn a dreem, and he biforseith a signe and a wondur to comynge aftir,
Maybe a prophet or someone who has dreams about the future comes along and gives you a prediction you about some sign or miracle,
2 and this that he spak bifallith, and he seith to thee, Go we, and sue alien goddis, whiche thou knowist not, and serue we hem,
and the sign or wonder does happens. If after that they tell you, “Let's follow other gods that you don't know, and let's worship them,”
3 thou schalt not here the wordis of that prophete, ether of dremere; for youre Lord God assaieth you, that he wite opynli whether ye louen hym ether nay, in al youre herte, and in al youre soule.
then you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has to say because the Lord your God is trying to find out whether you really love him with all your mind and with all your being.
4 Sue ye youre Lord, and `drede ye hym; kepe ye his comaundementis, and here ye `the vois of hym; ye schulen serue hym, and ye schulen cleue to hym.
You are to follow the Lord your God and respect him. Keep his commandments and do what he says; worship him and hold onto him.
5 Forsothe thilke prophete, ether the feynere of dremes, schal be slayn; for he spak that he schulde turne you awei fro youre Lord God, that ladde you out of the lond of Egipt, and ayenbouyte you fro the hous of seruage, that `thilke prophete schulde make thee to erre fro the weie which thi Lord God comaundide to thee; and thou schalt do awey yuel fro the myddis of thee.
These kinds of prophet or dreamer must be executed, because they have promoted rebellion against the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt and rescued you from the prison-house of slavery. They have tried to lead you from the way that the Lord your God has ordered you to follow. You must eliminate the evil among you.
6 If thi brothir, the sone of thi modir, ether thi sone, ethir thi douyter, ether the wijf which is in thi bosum, ethir thi freend whom thou louest as thi soule, wole counsele thee, and seith priueli, Go we and serue alien goddis, whiche thou knowist not,
Even if your own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your best friend secretly encourages you, saying, “Let's go and worship other gods” unfamiliar to you and your forefathers,
7 and thi fadris, of alle the folkis `in cumpas, that ben niy ether fer, fro the bigynnyng `til to the ende of the lond,
the gods of your pagan nation neighbors, whether they love close by or far away in any direction,
8 assente thou not to hym, nether here thou, nether thin iyen spare hym, that thou haue mercy,
don't give into them or listen to them. Show them no mercy. Don't spare them or protect them.
9 and hide hym, but anoon thou schalt sle hym. Thin hond be fyrst on him and aftir thee al the puple putte to hond.
No, you absolutely must kill them! You start killing them, and then have everyone else help.
10 He schal be oppressid with stoonus, and `schal be slayn; for he wolde drawe thee awei fro thi Lord God, that ledde thee out of the lond of Egipt, fro the hous of seruage,
Stone the person to death for trying lead you away from the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt, out of the prison-house of slavery.
11 that al Israel here and drede, and do no more ony thing lijk this thing.
Then every Israelite will hear about it and be afraid, and won't ever do such an evil thing among you.
12 If thou herist ony men seiynge in oon of thi citees, whiche thi Lord God schal yyue to thee to enhabite,
It may happen that once you're living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, you hear
13 The sones of Belial yeden out fro the myddis of thee, and turneden awei the dwelleris of the citee, and seiden, Go we, and serue alien goddis whiche ye knowen not,
that evil people have taken over in one of your towns and have led the people there astray, telling them, “Let's go and worship other gods” that you don't know.
14 enquere thou bisili, and whanne the treuthe of the thing is biholdun diligentli, if thou fyndist that this thing is certeyn, which is seid, and that this abhominacioun is doon in werk,
If this does happen you need to make a full investigation, inquiring about the facts and interrogating witnesses. If it's proved beyond doubt that this awful sin has actually been committed among you,
15 anoon thou schalt smyte the dwelleris of that citee bi the scharpnesse of swerd, and thou schalt `do it awey, and alle thingis that ben ther ynne, `til to beestis.
then you have to kill the people living in that town with the sword. Set apart for destruction its people and its livestock.
16 Also what euer thing of purtenaunce of houshold is, thou schalt gadere in the myddis of the stretis therof, and thou schalt brenne with that citee, so that thou waste alle thingis to thi Lord God, and it be a biriel euerlastynge; it schal no more be bildid.
You must pile up all the people's possessions in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the town and everything in it as a complete burnt offering to the Lord your God. The town must remain a heap of ruins forever. It must never be rebuilt.
17 And no thing of that cursyng schal cleue in thin hond, that the Lord be turned awei fro the yre of his strong veniaunce, and haue mercy on thee, and multiplie thee, as he swoor to thi fadris.
Don't take for yourselves anything that has been set apart for destruction so that the Lord won't be angry any more. He will be merciful to you, showing you compassion, and giving you many descendants as he promised to your forefathers,
18 Whanne thou hast herd the vois of thi Lord God, thou schalt kepe alle hise heestis whiche Y comaunde to thee to day, that thou do that that is plesaunt in the siyt of thi Lord God.
because you are obeying the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I'm giving you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.
