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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. 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. 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. 4 Forsothe ye that cleuen to youre Lord God lyuen alle `til in to present 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, 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! 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. 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? 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. 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. 11 And ye neiyiden to the `roote of the hille, that brente `til to heuene; and derknessis, and cloude, and myist weren therynne. 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. 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. 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. 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; 16 lest perauenture ye be disseyued and make to you a grauun licnesse, ether an ymage of male, ether of female; 17 a licnesse of alle beestis that ben on erthe, ether of bridis fleynge vndur heuene, 18 and of crepynge beestis that ben moued in erthe, ether of fischis that dwellen vndur the erthe in watris; lest perauenture, 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. 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. 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. 22 Lo! Y die in this erthe; Y schal not passe Jordan; ye schulen passe, and schulen welde the noble lond. 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. 24 For thi Lord God is fier wastynge § ; `God, a feruent louyere. 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, 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, 27 and schal scatere `in to alle hethen men, and ye schulen leeue fewe among naciouns, to whiche the Lord schal lede you. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 33 that a puple herde the vois of God spekynge fro the myddis of the fier, as thou herdist, and siest; 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; 35 that thou schuldist wite, that the Lord hym silf is God, and noon other is, outakun oon. 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; 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, 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. 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. 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. 41 Thanne Moises departide thre citees biyende Jordan at the eest coost, 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; 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. 44 This is the lawe which Moises `settide forth bifor the sones 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, 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, 47 and the lond of Og, kyng of Basan, twei kyngis of Ammoreis, that weren biyende Jordan, at the rysyng of the sunne; 48 fro Aroer which is set on the brenke of the stronde of Arnon, `til to the hil of Seon, which 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.
* 4:2 ye schulen not adde to the word etc. Here that adding is forbedun, that depraueth, ether peruertith the vndurstonding of the lawe; that adding, that declarith, ether makith cleer, is not forbedun, bi this that is writun in xxiiij. co. of Ecci. in the name of wisdom, ether of hooly scripture; Thei that declaren me, schulen haue euerlastynge liyf. † 4:6 wisdom, that is, saueri kunnyng, that bringith in to the loue of God. Sothely the wisdom of filosoforis brouyten more to hiynesse and pride. ‡ 4:20 a puple of eritage, that is, cleuynge to him vnmouably; as eritage is possessioun vnmouable. § 4:24 fier wastinge, that is, punyschinge scharply, as fier among othere elementis worchith more. * 4:29 in the heestis, domes, and in cerymonies, paciently abidinge the Lord. † 4:30 that is, after alle these forseid thinges ben bifallen to thee. ‡ 4:32 that is, take hede to alle thinges that euer weren do. § 4:40 preueili and appertli, in prosperitee and in aduersitee.