Deuteronomy 1
1 These ben the wordis whiche Moyses spak to al Israel ouer Jordan, in the wildirnesse of the feeld, ayens the reed see, bitwix Pharan and Tophel and Laban and Asseroth, where is ful myche gold,
In this book is written what Moses/I said to the Israeli people. He/I told them these things when they/we were in the desert, on the east side of the Jordan [River]. They/We had set up our tents near [a place named] Suph, between Paran [town on the one side of the river] and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab [towns on the other side of the river].
2 by enleuene daies fro Oreb bi the weie of the hil of Seir, til to Cades Barne.
To walk from Sinai [Mountain] to the Kadesh-Barnea [oasis], people usually travel for only eleven days, going by way of the hilly area named Edom.
3 In the fortithe yeer, in the enleuenth monethe, in the firste dai of the monethe, Moises spak to the sones of Israel alle thingis whiche the Lord commandide to hym that he schulde seie to hem,
Forty years after (the Israelis/we) left Egypt, in the middle of January, Moses/I told the Israeli people everything that Yahweh had commanded him/me to tell them.
4 after that he smoot Seon, kyng of Ammorreis, that dwellide in Esebon, and Og, the kyng of Basan, that dwelide in Asseroth and in Edray, ouer Jordan, in the lond of Moab.
This was after they/we had defeated Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city], and Og, the king of the Bashan [region] who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei [towns].
5 And Moyses bigan to declare the lawe, and to seie,
Moses/I told them these things while the people were in the Moab region, on the east side of the Jordan [River]. He/I (explained to them/enabled them to understand) God’s laws. This is what he/I said to them:
6 Oure Lord God spak to vs in Oreb, and seide, It suffisith to you that ye han dwellid in this hil;
“Yahweh our God said to us when we were at Sinai [Mountain], ‘You have stayed for a very long time at [the bottom of] this mountain.
7 turne ye ayen, and come ye to the hil of Amorreis, and to othere placis that ben next it; to places of feeldis, and of hillis, and to lowere places ayens the south, and bisidis the brenke of the see, to the lond of Cananeys, and of Liban, `til to the greet flood Eufrates.
So now continue traveling. Go to the hilly area where the Amor people-group lives and to the nearby areas—to the Jordan [River] Valley, to the hilly region, to the western (foothills/hills at the bottom of the mountains), to the desert area to the south, to the [Mediterranean] Seacoast, to all of Canaan land, to the Lebanon [Mountains], and [northeast] to the great Euphrates River.
8 Lo, `he seith, Y haue youe to you; entre ye, and `welde ye `that lond on which the Lord swoor to youre fadrys, Abraham, Ysaac, and Jacob, that he schulde yyue it to hem, and to her seed after hem.
Note that I will give that land to you. I, Yahweh, promised to your ancestors Abraham and Isaac and Jacob that I would give it to them and to their descendants. So now go and occupy it.’”
9 And Y seide to you in that time, Y may not aloone susteyne you, for youre Lord God hath multiplied you,
Moses/I also said to the people, “When [we were still at Sinai Mountain], I told your ancestors ‘It is a very big burden/responsibility for me to govern all of you. So I cannot do it by myself.
10 and ye ben ful many to dai, as the sterris of heuene;
Yahweh our God has caused us Israelis to now become as numerous as the stars in the sky.
11 the Lord God of youre fadris adde to this noumbre many thousyndis, and blesse you, as he spak.
And I hope/desire that Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped], will cause us to become 1,000 times as numerous as we are now and that he will bless us just like he promised to do.
12 Y may not aloone susteyne youre causis, and birthun, and stryues; yyue ye of you men wise `in dyuyn thingis,
But I certainly cannot [RHQ] (solve/deal with) all of your complaints/problems.
13 and witti `in mennus thingis worthi to be don, whose conuersacioun is preued in youre lynagis, that Y sette hem princes to you.
So choose some men from your tribes who are wise and who have good sense and who are respected. Then I will appoint them to be your leaders.’
14 Thanne ye answeriden to me, The thing is good which thou wolt do.
Your ancestors replied, ‘What you have suggested is good for us to do.’
15 And Y took of youre lynagis men wise and noble, `in vertues and kyn; and Y ordeynede hem princis, tribunes, and centuryouns, and quynquagenaries, and denys, whiche schulden teche you all thingis.
So I took the wise and respected men [that your ancestors chose] from your tribes, and I appointed them to be your leaders. I appointed some to (rule/have authority) over 1,000 people, some to have authority over 100 people, some to have authority over 50 people, and some to have authority over ten people. I also appointed other officers from throughout your tribes.
16 And Y comaundide to hem, and seide, Here ye hem, and deme ye that that is iust, whether he be a citeseyn, whether a pilgrym.
I instructed/told your leaders, ‘Listen to the disputes that occur among your people. Judge each dispute, including disputes between close relatives and quarrels between your people and people from other countries who live among you.
17 No difference schal be of persones; ye schulen here so a litil man, `that is, pore, as a greet man, nether ye schulen take the persoone of ony man, for it is the doom of God. That if ony thing semeth hard to you, telle ye to me, and Y schal here.
You must (be impartial/not favor one person more than another); you must treat poor people and important people equally. You must not worry about what anyone will think [about how you decide matters], because you will decide matters as God [wants you to]. If any quarrel/dispute is very difficult and you are unable to decide it, bring it to me, and I will decide.’
18 And Y comaundide alle thingis whiche ye ouyten to do.
At that time I also told you other things that you should do.”
19 Forsothe we yeden forth fro Oreb, and passiden bi a feerdful deseert, and grettiste wildirnesse, which ye sien, bi the weye of the hil of Ammorrey, as oure Lord God comaundide to vs. And whanne we hadden come in to Cades Barne,
“Then, just like Yahweh our God commanded us, we left Sinai [Mountain] and went through that huge desert that was very (dangerous/difficult to travel through), on the road to the hilly area where the Amor people-group live. We arrived at Kadesh-Barnea.
20 Y seide to you, Ye ben comen to the hil of Ammorrey, which youre Lord God schal yyue to you;
I said to your ancestors, ‘We have now come to the hilly area where the Amor people-group live. This is part of the area that Yahweh our God, the one whom our ancestors [worshiped], is giving to us.
21 se thou the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee; `stie thou, and welde it, as oure Lord God spak to thi fadris; `nyle thou drede, nether `drede thou in herte ony thing.
Note that Yahweh our God is giving this land to us. So go and occupy it as he commanded. Do not be (at all/even a little bit) afraid.’
22 And alle ye neiyiden to me, and ye seiden, Sende we men, that schulen biholde the lond, and telle to vs bi what weye we owen stie, and to whiche citees we owen to go.
But all of your ancestors came to me and said, ‘Before we go, we should [first] send some men there to explore the land, in order that they can return and tell us which will be the best road to go there and what kind of towns are there.’
23 And whanne the word pleside to me, Y sente of you twelue men, of ech lynage oon.
I thought that it would be good to do that, so I chose twelve men, one man from each tribe.
24 And whanne thei hadden go, and hadden stied in to the hilli places, thei camen `til to the valei of Clustre; and whanne thei hadden biholde the lond,
They went up into the hilly area as far as Eshcol Valley, and they explored all that area.
25 thei token of the fruytis therof, to schewe the plentee, and brouyten `to vs, and seiden, The lond is good which oure Lord God schal yyue to vs.
They picked some of the fruit that they found there and brought it to us. They reported that the land that Yahweh our God was giving to us is very good/fertile.”
26 And ye `nolden stie, but ye weren vnbileueful to the word of oure Lord God.
“But your ancestors refused to go [and conquer that land]. They rebelled against what Yahweh our God had commanded them to do, and they would not go into that land.
27 And ye grutchiden in youre tabernaclis, and ye seiden, The Lord hatith vs, and herfor he ledde vs out of the lond of Egipt, that he schulde bitake vs in the hond of Ammorey, and schulde do awei vs.
Your ancestors [stayed] in their tents and complained saying ‘Yahweh hates us. So he has brought us here from Egypt just to allow the Amor people-group to destroy us.
28 Whidur schulen we stie? the messangeris maden aferd oure herte, and seiden, A grettiste multitude is, and largere in stature than we; the citees ben greete, and wallid `til to the heuene; we sien there the sones of Enachym, that is, giauntis.
(Why should we go there?/We do not want to go there.) [RHQ] The men whom we sent there have caused us to become very discouraged/afraid. They have told us that the people there are much stronger and taller than we are and that there are extremely high [HYP] walls around their towns. Also they reported that they saw [giants there that are] descendants of Anak.’
29 And Y seide to you, `Nyle ye drede `with ynne, nether `drede withoutforth; the Lord God hym silf,
Then I said to your ancestors, ‘Do not be afraid (at all/even a little bit) [DOU] of those people!
30 which is youre ledere, schal fiyte for you, as he dide in Egipt, while alle men sien.
Yahweh our God will go ahead of you, and he will fight for you, just like you saw him do for you in Egypt
31 And ye sien in the wildirnesse, thi Lord God bar thee, as a man is wont to bere his litil sone, in al the weie bi which ye yeden til ye camen to this place.
and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely here, like a man would carry his son. [SIM]’
32 And sotheli nether so ye bileueden to youre Lord God, that yede bifor you in the weie,
[I reminded them that] he always went ahead of them while they traveled [in the desert]. He directed them by [a pillar of] fire during the night and a [pillar of] cloud during the day. He showed them places to set up their tents. But in spite of what I said, your ancestors would not trust Yahweh our God.
33 and mesuride the place in which ye ouyten to sette tentis, and schewide in nyyt the weie to you bi fier, and in dai bi a piler of cloude.
34 And whanne the Lord hadde herd the vois of youre wordis, he was wrooth,
Yahweh heard what they said, and he became angry. He solemnly declared,
35 and swoor, and seide, Noon of the men of this werste generacioun schal se the good lond, which Y bihiyte vndur an ooth to youre fadris,
‘Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, will enter the land. He has obeyed me completely. So I will give to him and to his descendants [some of] the land that he explored. He is the only one of all you people who will enter that land. None of these evil people will ever see that good land which I solemnly promised to give to your ancestors.’
36 outakun Caleph, the sone of Jephone; for he schal se it, and Y schal yyue to hym the lond on which he trad, and to hise sones, for he suede the Lord.
37 Nether the indignacioun ayens the puple is wondirful, sithen the Lord was wrooth also to me for you, and seide,
But because of [what] your ancestors [did], Yahweh was also angry with me. He said to me, ‘You also will not enter that land.
38 Nether thou schalt entre thidur, but Josue, the sone of Nun, thi mynystre, he schal entre for thee; excyte and strengthe thou him, and he schal departe the lond bi lot to Israel.
Joshua, the son of Nun, who is your helper, will enter it. Encourage him, because he is the one who will enable you Israeli people to occupy that land.’
39 Youre litle children, of whiche ye seiden, that thei schulden be led prisoneris, and the sones that kunnen not to dai the diuersite of good and of yuel, thei schulen entre; and Y schal yyue to hem the lond, and thei schulen welde it.
Then Yahweh said to all of us, ‘You said that your children would be captured by your enemies. Because they are very young, they do not yet know what is good and what is evil. But they are the ones to whom I will give that land, and they will enter it and occupy it.
40 Sotheli turne ye ayen, and go ye in to the wildirnesse, bi the weie of the Reed See.
But as for you, turn around and go back into the desert, toward the (Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba).’
41 And ye answeriden to me, We synneden to the Lord; we schulen stie, and we schulen fiyte, as oure Lord God comaundide. And whanne ye weren arayed with armeris, and yeden `into the hil, the Lord seide to me,
Then your ancestors replied, ‘We have sinned; we have disobeyed Yahweh. So we will go and attack [the people who live in] that land, just like Yahweh our God commanded us to do.’ And each of their men put on his weapons, and they thought that it would be easy to invade the hilly region.
42 Seie thou to hem, `Nyle ye stye, nether fiyte ye, for Y am not with you, lest ye fallen bifor youre enemyes.
But Yahweh said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up there and attack those people, because I will not go with you. If you go, your enemies will defeat you.”’
43 Y spak, and ye herden not; but ye `weren aduersaries to the comaundement of the Lord, and bolnden with prijde, and stieden in to the hil.
So I told that to your ancestors, but they would not heed what I said. They [again] rebelled against what Yahweh commanded them to do. Their soldiers proudly/arrogantly marched up into that hilly region.
44 Therfor Ammorrey yede out, that dwellide in the hillis, and he cam ayens you, and pursuede you, as bees ben wont to pursue, and killide fro Seir til Horma. And whanne ye turneden ayen,
Then the men of the Amor people-group who lived in that region came out [of their towns] and attacked those soldiers. They pursued your ancestors’ soldiers like [a swarm of] bees pursues people, and they pursued them [south] from the Edom area and defeated them at Hormah [city].
45 and wepten bifor the Lord, he herde not you, nether wolde asente to youre vois;
So your ancestors went back [to Kadesh-Barnea] and cried out to request Yahweh [to help them], but he did not heed them. He did not pay any attention to them [DOU].
46 therfor ye saten in Cades Barne bi myche tyme.
So we stayed there at Kadesh-Barnea for a long time.”
