Deuteronomy 4

1 And now, thou Israel, here the comaundementis and domes whiche Y teche thee, that thou do tho, and lyue, and that thow entre and welde the lond which the Lord God of youre fadris schal yyue to you.

And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, giveth you.

2 Ye schulen not adde to the word which Y speke to you, nether ye schulen take awei `fro it; kepe ye the comaundementis of youre Lord God, which Y comaunde to you.

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

3 Youre iyen sien alle thingis whiche the Lord dide ayens Belphegor; how he alto brak alle the worschiperis `of hym fro the myddis of you.

Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee.

4 Forsothe ye that cleuen to youre Lord God lyuen alle `til in to present day.

But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.

5 Ye witen that Y tauyte you the comaundementis and riytfulnessis, as my Lord God comaundide to me; so ye schulen do tho in the lond whiche ye schulen welde,

Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it.

6 and ye schulen kepe, and schulen fille in werk. For this is youre wisdom and vndurstondyng bifor puplis, that alle men here these comaundementis, and seie, Lo! a wise puple and vnderstondynge! a greet folk!

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

7 Noon other nacioun is so greet, `not in noumbre ether in bodili quantite, but in dignite, that hath Goddis neiyynge to it silf, as oure God is redi to alle oure bisechyngis.

For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is whensoever we call upon him?

8 For whi what other folk is so noble, that it hath cerymonyes and iust domes, and al the lawe which Y schal `sette forth to dai bifor youre iyen?

And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

9 Therfor kepe thi silf, and thi soule bisili; foryete thou not the wordis whiche thin iyen sien, and falle tho not doun fro thin herte, in alle the daies of thi lijf. Thou schalt teche tho thi sones and thi sones sones.

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children’s children;

10 Telle thou the day in which thou stodist bifor thi Lord God in Oreb, whanne the Lord spak to me, and seide, Gadere thou the puple to me, that it here my wordis, and lerne for to drede me in al tyme in which it lyueth in erthe, and teche hise sones.

the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Assemble me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

11 And ye neiyiden to the `roote of the hille, that brente `til to heuene; and derknessis, and cloude, and myist weren therynne.

And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.

12 And the Lord spak to you fro the myddis of fier; ye herden the vois of hise wordis, and outirli ye sien no fourme.

And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only [ye heard] a voice.

13 And he schewide to you his couenaunt, which he comaundide, that ye schulden do, and `he schewide ten wordis, whiche he wroot in two tablis of stoon.

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 And he comaundide to me in that tyme, that Y schulde teche you cerymonyes and domes, whiche ye owen to do in the lond whiche ye schulen welde.

And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15 Therfor kepe ye bisili youre soulis; ye sien not ony licnesse in the dai in which the Lord spak to you in Oreb, fro the myddis of the fier;

Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

16 lest perauenture ye be disseyued and make to you a grauun licnesse, ether an ymage of male, ether of female;

lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

17 a licnesse of alle beestis that ben on erthe, ether of bridis fleynge vndur heuene,

the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the heaven,

18 and of crepynge beestis that ben moued in erthe, ether of fischis that dwellen vndur the erthe in watris; lest perauenture,

the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth:

19 whanne thin iyen ben reisid to heuene, thou se the sonne, and moone, and alle the sterris of heuene, and be disseyued bi errour, and worschipe tho, `bi outermer reuerence, and onour, `bi ynner reuerence, `tho thingis whiche thi Lord God made of nouyt, in to seruyce to alle folkis that ben vndur heuene.

and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.

20 Forsothe the Lord took you, and ledde out of the yrun furneys of Egipt, that he schulde haue a puple of eritage, as it is in `present dai.

But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as at this day.

21 And the Lord was wrooth ayens me for youre wordis, and swoor that Y schulde not passe Jordan, and schulde not entre in to the beeste lond, which he schal yyue to you.

Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:

22 Lo! Y die in this erthe; Y schal not passe Jordan; ye schulen passe, and schulen welde the noble lond.

but I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.

23 Be thou war, lest ony tyme thou foryete the couenaunt of thi Lord God, which he made with thee, and lest thou make to thee a grauun licness of tho thingis whiche the Lord forbeed to make.

Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image in the form of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.

24 For thi Lord God is fier wastynge; `God, a feruent louyere.

For the LORD thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

25 If ye gendren sones, and sones of sones, and ye dwellen in the lond, and ye be disceyued, and make to you ony licnesse, and doen yuel bifor youre Lord God, that ye terren hym to greet wrathe,

When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image in the form of any thing, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:

26 Y clepe witnesses to dai heuene and erthe, `that is, ech resonable creature beynge in heuene and in erthe, that ye schulen perische soone fro the lond, which ye schulen welde, whanne ye han passid Jordan; ye schulen not dwelle long tyme therynne, but the Lord schal do awey you,

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

27 and schal scatere `in to alle hethen men, and ye schulen leeue fewe among naciouns, to whiche the Lord schal lede you.

And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away.

28 And there ye schulen serue to goddis, that ben maad bi `the hond of men, to a tre and a stoon, that `seen not, nether heren, nether eten, nether smellen.

And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 And whanne thou hast souyt there thi Lord God, thou schalt fynde hym; if netheles thou sekist with al the herte, and with al the tribulacioun of thi soule.

But if from thence ye shall seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou search after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30 Aftir that alle thingis han founde thee, that ben biforseid, forsothe in the laste tyme, thou schalt turne ayen to thi Lord God, and thou schalt here his vois.

When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the latter days thou shalt return to the LORD thy God, and hearken unto his voice:

31 For thi Lord God is merciful God; he schal not forsake thee, nethir he schal do awey outirli, nethir he schal foryete the couenaunt, in which he swoor to thi fadris.

for the LORD thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

32 Axe thou of elde daies that weren bifor thee, fro the day in which thi Lord God made of nouyt man on erthe, axe thou fro that oon ende of heuene `til to the tother ende therof, if sich a thing was doon ony tyme, ether if it was euere knowun,

For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

33 that a puple herde the vois of God spekynge fro the myddis of the fier, as thou herdist, and siest;

Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?

34 if God `dide, that he entride, and took to him silf a folc fro the middis of naciouns, bi temptaciouns, myraclis, and grete wondris, bi batel, and strong hond, and arm holdun forth, and orrible siytis, bi alle thingis whiche youre Lord God dide for you in Egipt, `while thin iyen sien;

Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

35 that thou schuldist wite, that the Lord hym silf is God, and noon other is, outakun oon.

Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.

36 Fro heuene he made thee to here his vois, that he schulde teche thee; and in erthe he schewide to thee his grettiste fier, and thou herdist the wordis `of hym fro the myddis of the fier;

Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.

37 for he louyde thi fadris, and chees her seed aftir hem. And he ledde thee out of Egipt, and yede bifore in his greet vertu,

And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt;

38 that he schulde do awei grettiste naciouns, and strongere than thou, in thin entryng, and that he schulde lede thee ynne, and schulde yyue to thee the lond `of hem in to possessioun, as thou seest in `present day.

to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day.

39 Therfor wite thou to dai, and thenke in thin herte, that the Lord him silfe is God in heuene aboue, and in erthe bynethe, and noon other is.

Know therefore this day, and lay it to thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

40 Kepe thou hise heestis, and comaundementis, whiche Y comaunde to thee, that it be wel to thee, and to thi sones after thee, and that thou dwelle mych tyme on the lond, which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee.

And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

41 Thanne Moises departide thre citees biyende Jordan at the eest coost,

Then Moses separated three cities beyond Jordan toward the sunrising;

42 that he fle to tho, that sleeth his neighbore not wilfuli, and was not enemy bifore oon and `the tother dai, and that he mai fle to summe of these citees;

that the manslayer might flee thither, which slayeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

43 Bosor in the wildirnesse, which is set in the feeldi lond, of the lynage of Ruben; and Ramoth in Galaad, which is in the lynage of Gad; and Golan in Basan, which is in the lynage of Manasses.

[namely], Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

44 This is the lawe which Moises `settide forth bifor the sones of Israel,

And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:

45 and these ben the witnessyngis, and cerymonyes, and domes, whiche he spak to the sones of Israel, whanne thei yeden out of Egipt,

these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt;

46 biyende Jordan, in the valey ayens the temple of Phegor, in the lond of Seon, kyng of Ammorreis, that dwellide in Esebon, whom Moises killide. And the sones of Israel yeden out of Egipt, and weldiden `the lond of him,

beyond Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, when they came forth out of Egypt:

47 and the lond of Og, kyng of Basan, twei kyngis of Ammoreis, that weren biyende Jordan, at the rysyng of the sunne;

and they took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, which were beyond Jordan toward the sunrising;

48 fro Aroer which is set on the brenke of the stronde of Arnon, `til to the hil of Seon, which is Hermon;

from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even unto mount Sion (the same is Hermon),

49 thei weldiden al the pleyn biyende Jordan, at the eest coost, `til to the see of wildirnesse, and `til to the rootis of the hil of Phasga.

and all the Arabah beyond Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.