Deuteronomy 7
1 Whanne thi Lord God hath lad thee in to the lond, in to which thou schalt entre to welde, and hath do awey many folkis bifor thee, Ethei, and Gergesei, and Ammorrey, Canenei, and Pherezei, Euey, and Jebusei; seuene folkis, of myche gretter noumbre than thou art, and strengere than thou;
When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you go to possess, he will drive out many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—seven nations greater and mightier than you.
2 and thi Lord God hath bitake hem to thee, thou schalt smyte hem `til to deeth, thou schalt not make `with hem a boond of pees, nether thou schalt haue merci on hem,
It is Yahweh your God who gives them over to you when you defeat them, and then you must completely destroy them. You will make no covenant with them, and show them no mercy.
3 nether thou schalt felowschipe mariagis with him; thou schalt not yyue thi douyter to the sone `of hym, nether thou schalt take his douytir to thi sone;
Neither will you arrange any marriages with them. You will not give your daughters to their sons, and you will not take their daughters for your sons.
4 for sche schal disceyue thi sone, that he sue not me, and that he serue more alien goddis; and the strong veniaunce of the Lord schal be wrooth, and schal do awei thee soone.
For they will turn away your sons from following me, so that they may worship other gods. So the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and he will destroy you quickly.
5 But rather thou schalt do these thingis to hem; destrie ye the auteris `of hem, and breke ye ymagis `of metal, and kitte ye doun wodis, and brenne ye grauun ymagis.
This is how you will deal with them: You will break down their altars, dash their stone pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their cast idols.
6 For thou art an hooli puple to thi Lord God; thi Lord God chees thee, that thou be a special puple to hym, of alle puplis that ben on erthe.
For you are a nation that is set apart to Yahweh your God. He has chosen you to be a people for him to possess, more than all the other peoples that are on the face of the earth.
7 Not for ye ouercamen in noumbre alle folkis, the Lord is ioyned to you, and chees yow, sithen ye ben fewere than alle puplis;
Yahweh did not set his love upon you or choose you because you were more in number than any people—for you were the fewest of all peoples—
8 but for the Lord louede you, and kepte the ooth which he swoor to youre fadris; and he ledde you out in strong hond, and ayen bouyte you fro the hows of seruage, fro `the hows of Farao, kyng of Egipt.
but because he loves you, and he wished to keep the oath that he had sworn to your fathers. This is why Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
9 And thou schalt wite, that thi Lord God hym silf is a strong God, and feithful, and kepith couenaunt and mersi to hem that louen hym, and to hem that kepen hise comaundementis, in to a thousynde generaciouns;
Therefore know that Yahweh your God—he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenants and faithfulness for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments,
10 and yeldith anoon to hem that haten hym, so that he destrie hem, and differr no lengere; restorynge anoon to hem that that thei disseruen.
but repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be lenient on whoever hates him; he will repay him to his face.
11 Therfor kepe thou the comaundementis, and cerymonyes, and domes, whiche Y comaunde to thee to dai, that thou do.
You will therefore keep the commandments, the statutes, and the decrees that I command you today, so that you will do them.
12 If aftir that thou herist these domes, thou kepist, and doist tho, thi Lord God schal kepe to thee couenaunt, and mersi, which he swoor to thi fadris.
If you listen to these decrees, and keep and do them, it will happen that Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the faithfulness that he swore to your fathers.
13 And he schal loue thee, and schal multiplie thee, and he schal blesse the fruyt of thi wombe, and the fruyt of thi lond, thi wheete, and vindage, oile, and droues of beestis, and the flockis of thi scheep, on the lond for which he swoor to thi fadris, that he schulde yyue it to thee.
He will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain, your new wine, and your oil, the multiplication of your cattle and the young of your flocks, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.
14 Thou schalt be blessid among alle puplis; noon bareyn of euer eithir kynde schal be at thee, as well in men, as in thi flockis.
You will be blessed more than all other peoples; there will not be a childless male or a barren female among you or among your cattle.
15 The Lord schal do awei fro thee all ache, `ether sorewe; and he schal not brynge to thee the worste siknessis of Egipt, whiche thou knewist, but to alle thin enemyes.
Yahweh will take away from you all sickness; none of the evil diseases of Egypt that you have known will he put on you, but he will put them on all those who hate you.
16 And thou schalt `deuoure, that is, distrie, alle puplis, whiche thi Lord God schal yyue to thee; thin iye schal not spare hem, nethir thou schalt serue the goddis `of hem, lest thei ben in to the fallyng of thee.
You will consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God will give over to you, and your eye will not pity them. You will not worship their gods, for that will be a trap for you.
17 If thou seist in thin herte, These folkis ben mo than Y, hou may Y do awei hem?
If you say in your heart, 'These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?'—
18 `nyle thou drede, but haue thou mynde, what thingis thi Lord God dide to Farao, and alle Egipcians;
do not be afraid of them; you will call to mind what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt;
19 `he dide the gretteste veniaunces, whiche thin iyen sien, and miraclis and grete wondris, and the strong hond, and arm `holdun forth, that thi Lord God schulde lede thee out; so he schal do to alle puplis whiche thou dredist.
the great sufferings that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out. Yahweh your God will do the same to all the peoples whom you fear.
20 Ferthermore and thi Lord God schal sende venemouse flies in to hem, til he do awei, and destrye alle men, that fledden thee, and thei schulen not mowe be hid.
Moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left and who hide themselves from you perish from your presence.
21 Thou schalt not drede hem, for thi Lord is in the myddis of thee, grete God, and ferdful.
You will not be frightened at them, for Yahweh your God is among you, a great and fearsome God.
22 He hym silf schal waste these naciouns in thi siyt, litil and litil, and bi partis; thou schalt not mow do awey `tho naciouns togidere, lest peraventure beestis of erthe be multiplied ayens thee;
Yahweh your God will drive out those nations before you little by little. You will not defeat them all at once, or the wild animals would become very many around you.
23 and thi Lord God schal yyue hem in thi siyt, and he schal sle hem, til thei be doon awey outerly.
But Yahweh your God will give you victory over them when you meet them in battle; he will greatly confuse them until they are destroyed.
24 And he schal bitake the kyngis `of hem in to thin hondis, and thou schalt destrie the names `of hem vndur heuene; noon schal mow ayenstonde thee, til thou al to-breke hem.
He will put their kings under your power, and you will make their name perish from under heaven. No one will be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them.
25 Thou schalt brenne in fier the grauun ymagis `of hem; thou schalt not coueite the siluer and gold, of whiche tho ymagis ben maad, nether thou schalt take of tho ony thing to thee, lest thou offende therfor, for it is abhominacioun of thi Lord God.
You will burn the carved figures of their gods—do not covet the silver or the gold that covers them and take it for yourself, because if you do, you will become trapped by it—for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
26 Nether thou schalt brynge ony thing of the idol in to thin hous, lest thou be maad cursid, as also that idol is; thou schalt wlate it as filthe, and thou schalt haue it as defoulyng, and filthis of abhomynacioun, for it is cursid.
You will not bring any abomination into your house and start to worship it. You will utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.
