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,

If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and if he gives you a sign or a wonder,

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 if the sign or the wonder comes about, of which he spoke to you and said, 'Let us go after other gods, that you have not known, and let us 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.

do not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

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 will walk after Yahweh your God, honor him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you will worship him and cling to 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.

That prophet or that dreamer of dreams will be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and who redeemed you out of the house of bondage. That prophet wants to draw you out of the way in which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk. So put away the evil from 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,

Suppose that your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is to you like your own soul, secretly entices you and says, 'Let us go and worship other gods that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors—

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,

any of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.'

8 assente thou not to hym, nether here thou, nether thin iyen spare hym, that thou haue mercy,

You must not give in to him or listen to him, and you must not permit your eye to pity him, and you must not spare him or conceal him.

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.

Instead, you will surely kill him; your hand will be the first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

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,

You will stone him to death with stones, because he has tried to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

11 that al Israel here and drede, and do no more ony thing lijk this thing.

All Israel will hear and fear, and will not continue to do this kind of wickedness among you.

12 If thou herist ony men seiynge in oon of thi citees, whiche thi Lord God schal yyue to thee to enhabite,

If you hear anyone say about one of your cities, that Yahweh your God gives you to live in:

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,

Some wicked fellows have gone out from among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city and said, 'Let us go and worship other gods that you have not known.'

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,

Then you will examine the evidence, make search, and investigate it thoroughly. When you discover that it is true and certain that such an abominable thing has been done among you, then you will take action.

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.

You will surely attack the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, completely destroy it and all the people who are in it, along with its livestock, with the edge of the sword.

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 will gather all the spoil from it into the middle of its street and will burn the city, as well as all its spoil—for Yahweh your God. The city will be a heap of ruins forever; it must never be built again.

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.

None of those things set apart for destruction must stick in your hand. This must be the case, so that Yahweh will turn from the fierceness of his anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and make you increase in numbers, as he has sworn to your fathers.

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.

He will do this because you are listening to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all his commandments that I am commanding you today, to do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.