Deuteronomy 31

1 When Moses/I finished saying all that to the Israeli people,

And so Moises yede, and spak alle these wordis to al Israel,

2 he/I said to them, “Now I am 120 years old. I am no longer able to go everywhere [that you go] (OR, to be your leader). Furthermore, Yahweh has told me that I will not cross the Jordan [River].

and seide to hem, Y am to dai of an hundrid and twenti yeer, Y may no ferthere go out and go yn, moost sithen also the Lord seide to me, Thou schalt not passe this Jordan.

3 But Yahweh our God will go ahead of you. He will [enable you to] destroy the nations that are living there, in order that you can occupy their land. Joshua will be your leader, which is what Yahweh already told me.

Therfor thi Lord God schal passe bifore thee; he schal do awei these folkis in thi siyt, and thou schalt welde hem; and this Josue schal go bifor thee, as the Lord spak.

4 Yahweh will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amor people-group when he destroyed their armies [MTY].

And the Lord schal do to hem as he dide to Seon, and Og kyng of Ammorreis, and to `the lond of hem; and he schal do hem awey.

5 Yahweh will enable you to conquer those nations, but you must [kill all of the people of those nations, which is] what I have commanded you to do.

Therfor whanne the Lord hath bitake to you also hem, ye schulen do in lijk maner to hem, as Y comaundide to you.

6 Be brave and confident. Do not be afraid of those people. [Do not forget that] it is Yahweh our God who will go with you. He will always help [LIT] you and never abandon you.”

Do ye manli, and be ye coumfortid; nyle ye drede in herte, nethir drede ye at the siyt of hem, for thi Lord God hym silf is thi ledere, and he schal not leeue, nether schal forsake thee.

7 Then Moses/I summoned Joshua, and while all the Israeli people were listening, he/I said to him, “Be brave and confident. You are the one who will lead these people into the land that Yahweh promised to our ancestors that he would give to them, and you will enable them to occupy it.

And Moyses clepid Josue, and seide to hym bifor al the multitude of the sones of Israel, Be thou coumfortid, and be thou strong; for thou schalt lede this puple in to the lond which the Lord swoor that he schal yyue to `the fadris of hem; and thou schalt departe it bi lot.

8 It is Yahweh who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will always help [LIT] you. He will never abandon you. So do not be afraid or dismayed.”

And the Lord hym silf whiche is youre ledere, schal be with thee, he schal not leeue, nether schal forsake thee; nyle thou drede, nether drede thou in herte.

9 Moses/I wrote down all these laws [on two scrolls] and gave [one scroll] to the priests, who carried the chest containing the Ten Commandments, and [gave the other scroll] to the Israeli elders.

Therfor Moyses wroot this lawe, and bitook it to the preestis, sones of Leuy, that baren the arke of the bond of pees of the Lord, and to alle the eldere men of Israel.

10 Moses/I told them, “At the end of every seven years, at the time that all debts are canceled, [read this to the people] during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters.

And Moyses comaundide to hem, and seide, Aftir seuen yeer, in the yeer of remyssioun, in the solempnete of tabernaclis,

11 Read it to all the Israeli people when they gather at the place that Yahweh chooses for them to worship him.

whanne alle men of Israel schulen come togidere, that thei appere in the siyt of her Lord God, in the place `which the Lord chees, thou schalt rede the wordis of this lawe bifor al Israel,

12 Gather together everyone—men, women, children, even the foreigners [who are living] in your towns—in order that they may hear [these laws] and learn to revere Yahweh our God, and to faithfully obey everything that is written in these laws.

while thei heren, and while al the puple is gaderid to gidere, as wel to men, as to wymmen, to litle children, and comelyngis that ben with ynne thi yatis; that thei here, and lerne, and drede youre Lord God, and kepe and fille alle the wordis of this lawe;

13 [If they do that], your descendants who have never known these laws will hear them and will also learn to revere Yahweh our God, during all the years that they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan [River] to occupy.”

also that the sones of hem, that now knowen not, moun here, and that thei drede her Lord God in alle daies in whiche thei lyuen in the lond to whiche ye schulen go to gete, whanne Jordan is passid.

14 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen carefully. You will soon die. Summon Joshua, and you go to the Sacred Tent with him, in order that I may appoint him [to be the new leader].” So Joshua and Moses/I went to the Sacred Tent.

And the Lord seide to Moises, Lo! the daies of thi deeth ben nyy; clepe thou Josue, and stonde ye in the tabernacle of witnessyng, that Y comaunde to hym. Therfor Moises and Josue yeden, and stooden in the tabernacle of witnessyng;

15 There Yahweh appeared to them/us in a pillar of cloud, and that cloud was close to the door of the tent.

and the Lord apperide there in a pilere of cloude, that stood in the entryng of the tabernacle.

16 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “You will soon die [EUP]. Then these people will become unfaithful [MET] to me. They will abandon me and (break/stop obeying) the agreement that I made with them. They will begin to worship the foreign/pagan gods [that are worshiped by the people] of the land that they will enter.

And the Lord seide to Moises, Lo! thou schalt slepe with thi fadris, and this puple schal rise, and schal do fornycacioun aftir alien goddis in the lond, to which lond it schal entre, that it dwelle ther ynne; there it schal forsake me, and schal make void the boond of pees, which Y couenauntide with it.

17 When that happens, I will become very angry with them. I will abandon them [DOU] and I will no longer help them [IDM], and I will destroy them {they will be destroyed}. Many terrible things will happen to them, with the result that they will say, ‘[We are certain that] [RHQ] these things are happening to us because our God is no longer with us.’

And my strong veniaunce schal be wrooth ayens that puple in that dai, and Y schal forsake it, and Y schal hide my face fro it, and it schal be in to deuouryng; alle yuels and turmentyngis schulen fynde it, so that it seie in that dai, Verili for the Lord is not with me, these yuelis han founde me.

18 And because of all the evil things that they will have done, and [especially because] they will have started to worship other gods, I will refuse to help [IDM] them.

Forsothe Y schal hide, and schal hile `my face in that dai, for alle the yuels `whiche it dide, for it suede alien goddis.

19 “So, [I am going to give you] a song. Write it [on a scroll] and teach it to the Israeli people and cause them to memorize it. It will be like a witness that accuses them.

Now therfor write ye to you this song, and `teche ye the sones of Israel, that thei holde it in mynde, and synge bi mouth; and that this song be to me for a witnessyng among the sones of Israel.

20 I am about to take them into a very fertile [IDM] land, a land that I solemnly promised their ancestors that I would give to them. There they will have plenty to eat, with the result that their [stomachs] will [always] be full and they will become fat. But then they will turn to other gods and start to worship them, and they will despise me and (break/stop obeying) the agreement that I made with them.

For Y schal lede hym in to the lond, for which Y swoor to hise fadris, flowynge with mylk and hony; and whanne thei han ete, and ben fillid, and ben maad fat, thei schulen turne to alien goddis, and thei schulen serue hem; and thei schulen bacbite me, and schulen make voide my couenaunt.

21 And they will experience many terrible disasters. After that happens, their descendants will never forget this song, and it will be like a witness [that says, ‘Now you know why Yahweh punished your ancestors].’ I will soon take them into the land that I vowed that I would give to them; but now, before I do that, I know what they are thinking [that they will do when they are living there].”

Aftir that many yuels and turmentyngis han founde hym, this song schal answere hym for witnessing, which song no foryetyng schal do awey fro the mouth of thi seed. For Y knowe the thouytis therof to day, what thingis it schal do, bifore that Y bringe it in to the lond which Y bihiyte to it.

22 So on the day that [Yahweh gave Moses/me this song], he/I wrote it down, and he/I taught it to the Israeli people.

Therfor Moises wroot the song, and tauyte the sones of Israel.

23 Then Yahweh (appointed/set apart) Joshua and said to him, “Be brave and confident, because you will lead the Israeli people into the land that I vowed that I would give to them. And I will be with you.”

And the Lord comaundide to Josue, the sone of Nun, and seide, Be thou coumfortid, and be thou strong; for thou schalt lede the sones of Israel in to the lond which Y bihiyte, and Y schal be with thee.

24 Then Moses/I finished writing on a scroll all the laws that Yahweh had told to him/me.

Therfor aftir that Moises wroot the wordis of this lawe in a book, and fillide,

25 Then Moses/I told the descendants of Levi, who were carrying the Sacred Chest that contained the Ten Commandments,

he comaundide to Leuytis that baren the ark of boond of pees of the Lord,

26 “Take this scroll on which these laws [are written], and place it beside the Sacred Chest that contains the agreement that Yahweh our God made with you, in order that it may remain there to testify [about what Yahweh will do] to the people [if they disobey him].

and seide, Take ye this book, and putte ye it in the side of the arke of boond of pees of youre Lord God, that it be there ayens thee in to witnessyng.

27 [I say this] because I know that these people are very stubborn [DOU]. They have rebelled against Yahweh all during the time that I have been [with them], and they will rebel much more after I die!

For Y knowe thi stryuyng, and thin hardest nol; yit while Y lyuede and entride with you, ye diden euere stryuyngli ayens the Lord; hou myche more whanne Y schal be deed.

28 So gather all the elders of the tribes and your officials, in order that I can tell them the words [of this song], and request all those who are in heaven and on the earth to be witnesses to testify against these people.

Gadere ye to me all the grettere men in birthe, and techeris, bi youre lynagis, and Y schal speke to hem, herynge these wordis, and Y schal clepe ayens hem heuene and erthe.

29 I say that because I know that after I die, the people will become very wicked. They will turn away from doing everything that I have commanded them to do. And in the future, because of all the evil things that they will do, they will cause Yahweh to become angry with them. And he will cause them to experience disasters.”

For Y knowe, that aftir my deeth ye schulen do wickidli, and schulen bowe awei soone fro the weie which Y comaundide to you; and yuels schulen come to you in the laste tyme, whanne ye `han do yuel in the siyt of the Lord, that ye terre hym to ire bi the werkis of youre hondis.

30 Then, while all the Israeli people listened, Moses/I sang/recited this entire song to them:

Therfor while al the cumpeny of the sones of Israel herde, Moises spak the wordis of this song, and fillide `til to the ende.