9 Forsothe thou schalt be alien fro the blood of the innocent which is sched, whanne thou hast do that that the Lord comaundide.
10 If thou goist out to batel ayens thin enemyes, that thi Lord God bitakith hem in thin hond, and thou ledist prisoneris,
11 and thou seest in the noumbre of prisounneris a fair womman, and thou louest hir, and wole haue hir to wijf,
12 thou schalt brynge hir in to thin hows; `which womman schal schaue the heer, and schal kitte the nailes aboute, and sche schal putte awei the clooth,
13 wher ynne sche was takun, and sche schal sitte in thin hows, and schal biwepe hir fadir and modir o monethe; and aftirward thou schalt entre to hir, and schalt sleepe with hir, and sche schal be thi wijf.
14 But if aftirward sche sittith not in thi soule, `that is, plesith not thi wille, thou schalt delyuere hir fre, nethir thou schalt mowe sille hir for money, nether oppresse bi power, for thou `madist hir lowe.
15 If a man hath twey wyues, oon loued, and `the tothir hateful, and he gendrith of hir fre children, and the sone of the hateful wijf is the firste gendrid,
16 and the man wole departe the catel bitwixe hise sones, he schal not mowe make the sone of the loued wijf the firste gendrid, and sette bifor the sone of the hateful wijf,
17 but he schal knowe the sone of the hateful wijf the firste gendrid, and he schal yyue to that sone alle thingis double of tho thingis that he hath; for this sone is the begynnyng of his fre children, and the firste gendrid thingis ben due to hym.
18 If a man gendrith a sone rebel, and ouerthewert, which herith not the comaundement of fadir and modir, and he is chastisid,
19 and dispisith to obei, thei schulen take hym, and schulen lede to the eldre men of that citee, and to the yate of doom;
20 and thei schulen seie to hem, This oure sone is ouerthewert and rebel; he dispisith to here oure monestyngis, `ethir heestis, he yyueth tent to glotonyes, and letcherie, and feestis.
21 The puple of the citee schal oppresse hym with stoonus, and he schal die, that ye do awei yuel fro the myddis of you, and that al Israel here, and drede.
22 Whanne a man doith a synne which is worthi to be punyschid bi deeth, and he is demed to deeth, and is hangid in a iebat,
23 his careyn schal not dwelle in the tre, but it schal be biried in the same dai; for he that hangith in the cros is cursid of God [2] , and thou schalt not defoule thi lond which thi Lord God yaf thee in to possessioun.
1 ↑ [Note: seye with an ooth.]
2 ↑ [Note: that is, curs is takun here for peyne of hangyng, youun of the iugis that holdun the place of God. is cursid of God: In Ebreu it is thus, the iustifiyng of God is hanging bi oure translacioun; curs is takun here for the peyne of hanging, youun of the iugis that holden the place of God; that this be the vndurstonding, for he that hangith in the tre, is cursid of God, that is, for sich peyne set of hem that holden the place of God, owith to suffise, and therfor ouer this he owith not to be priued fro biriyng.]
Chapter 22
1 Thou schalt not se `thi brotheris oxe, ethir scheep, errynge, and schalt passe, but thou schalt brynge ayen to thi brother.
2 And if thi brother is not nyy, nether thou knowist hym, thou schalt lede tho beestis in to thin hows, and tho schulen be at thee, as long as thi brother sekith tho, and til he resseyue hem.
3 In lijk maner thou schalt do of `the asse, and clooth, and of ech thing of thi brother, that was lost; if thou fyndist it, be thou not necgligent as of an alien thing.
4 If thou seest that the asse, ethir oxe of thi brothir felde in the weye, thou schalt not dispise, but thou schalt `reise with hym.
5 A womman schal not be clothid in a mannys clooth [1] , nether a man schal vse a wommannys cloth; for he that doith thes thingis is abhomynable bifor God. If thou goist in the weie,
6 and fyndist a `nest of a brid in a tree, ethir in the erthe, and fyndist the modir sittynge on the briddis ethir eyrun, thou schalt not holde the modir with `the children, but thou schalt suffre `the modir go,
7 and schalt holde the sones takun, that it be wel to thee, and thou lyue in long tyme. Whanne thou bildist a newe hows,
8 thou schalt make a wal of the roof bi cumpas, lest blood be sched out in thin hows, and thou be gilti, if another man slidith, and falle in to a dich.
9 Thou schalt not sowe thi vyner [2] `of another seed, lest bothe the seed which thou hast sowe, and tho thingis that `comen forth of the vyner, ben halewid togidere.
10 Thou schalt not ere with an oxe and asse togidere.
11 Thou schalt not be clothid in a cloth, which is wouun togidir of wolle and `of flex.
12 Thou schalt make litle cordis bi foure corneris in the hemmys of thi mentil, `with which thou art hilid.
13 If a man weddith a wijf, and aftirward hatith hir,
14 and sekith occasiouns bi which he `schal forsake hir, and puttith ayens hir `the werste name, and seith, Y haue take this wijf, and Y entride to hir, and Y foond not hir virgyn; the fadir and modir of hir schulen take
15 hir, and thei schulen bere with hem the signes of her virgynyte to the eldre men of the citee, that ben in the yate;
16 and the fadir schal seie, Y yaf my douytir wijf to this man, and for he hatith hir, he puttith to hir `the werste name,
17 that he seye, Y foond not thi douytir virgyn; and lo! these ben the signes of virgynyte of my douytir; thei schulen sprede forth a cloth [3] bifor the eldre men of the citee. And the eldere men of that citee schulen
18 take the man, and schulen bete hym,
19 and ferthermore thei schulen condempne hym in an hundrid siclis of siluer, whiche he schal yyue to the `fadir of the damysel, for he diffamide the werste name on a virgyn of Israel; and he schal haue hir wijf, and he schal not mowe forsake hir, in al `the tyme of his lijf.
20 That if it is soth, that he puttith ayens hir, and virgynyte is not foundun in the damysel, thei schulen caste hir `out of `the yatis of
21 the hous of hir fadir; and men of that citee schulen oppresse hir with stoonys, and sche schal die, for sche dide vnleueful thing in Israel, that sche dide fornycacioun [4] in `the hows of hir fadir; and thou schalt do awey yuel fro the myddis of thee.
22 If a man slepith with `the wijf of another man, euer eithir schal die, that is, auowter and auowtresse; and thou schalt do awey yuel fro Israel.
23 If a man spousith a damysel virgyn, and a man fyndith hir in the citee, and doith letcherie with hir,
24 thou schalt lede euer eithir to the yate of that citee, and thei schulen be oppressid with stoonus; the damysel schal be stonyd, for sche criede not, whanne sche was in the citee; the man schal `be stonyd, for he `made low the wijf of his neiybore; and thou schalt do awei yuel fro the myddis of thee.
25 Forsothe if a man fyndith in the feeld a `damysel, which is spousid, and he takith,