Romans 2

1 Wherfor thou art vnexcusable, ech man that demest, for in what thing thou demest anothir man, thou condempnest thi silf; for thou doist the same thingis whiche thou demest.

[God will severely punish non-Jewish people who habitually do evil things, because he has clearly revealed that he is angry with them]. So, [when God judges people], he will not excuse any one of you Jews [to whom I am writing]. You [(sg)] say that [God should] punish [non-Jews for doing evil things]. But when any one of you says that, it is you yourself whom you are saying that God should punish, because you [(sg)] do [some of] the same [evil] things [that the non-Jews do].

2 And we witen, that the doom of God is aftir treuthe ayens hem, that don siche thingis.

We know very well that God will judge and punish fairly [non-Jewish] people who do such [evil] things.

3 But gessist thou, man, that demest hem that doen siche thingis, and thou doist tho thingis, that thou schalt ascape the doom of God?

So, you who [say God should punish] others for doing evil things yet you do evil things yourself, (you should certainly not think that you yourself will be able to escape from being punished by God!/do you think that you yourself will be able to escape from being punished by God?) [RHQ]

4 Whether `dispisist thou the richessis of his goodnesse, and the pacience, and the long abidyng? Knowist thou not, that the benygnyte of God ledith thee to forthenkyng?

And you should not say, “God is acting very tolerantly and patiently toward me, [so I do not need to stop sinning] [DOU].” (You should realize that God is acting in a kind manner [toward you] in order to encourage you [(sg)] to turn away from your sinful behavior!/Do you not realize that God is acting in a kind manner [toward you] in order to encourage you [(sg)] to turn away from your sinful behavior?) [RHQ]

5 But aftir thin hardnesse and vnrepentaunt herte, thou tresorist to thee wraththe in the dai of wraththe and of schewyng of the riytful doom of God,

But instead, by your stubbornly refusing to turn away from your sinful behavior [DOU], you are causing [MET] God to punish you even more severely. [He will do that] at the time when he shows that he is angry and judges people fairly.

6 that schal yelde to ech man aftir his werkis;

God will pay back everyone according to [what they deserve for] what they have done.

7 sotheli to hem that ben bi pacience of good werk, glorie, and onour, and vncorrupcioun, to hem that seken euerlastynge lijf; (aiōnios g166)

[Specifically], some people, by continuing to doing good things, strive to be highly honored [by God] [DOU] and to receive a life that will not end. [God will reward them by enabling them] to live forever. (aiōnios g166)

8 but to hem that ben of strijf, and that assenten not to treuthe, but bileuen to wickidnesse, wraththe and indignacioun, tribulacioun and angwisch,

But some people act in a selfish way and refuse to believe that [what God says is] true, and they do the things that [God says] are wrong. [God will] punish them very severely [DOU, MTY].

9 in to ech soule of man that worchith yuel, to the Jew first, and to the Greke;

He will cause everyone who habitually does evil deeds to suffer greatly, [with the result that they will become severely] distressed [DOU]. This certainly will happen to the Jews [who refuse to accept God’s message, because God gave them the privilege to be his special people], but it will also happen to the non-Jews.

10 but glorie, and honour, and pees, to ech man that worchith good thing, to the Jew first, and to the Greke.

But [God will] greatly reward spiritually [MET, DOU] every person who habitually does good deeds. He will [certainly] do this for the Jews [because God chose them as his special people], but he will also do it for the non-Jews.

11 For accepcioun of persones is not anentis God.

God [will do this fairly], because people’s status does not influence him.

12 For who euere han synned without the lawe, schulen perische withouten the lawe; and who euere han synned in the lawe, thei schulen be demyd bi the lawe.

Although [non-Jews do not have] the laws that [God gave to Moses], all [non-Jews] who sin will be eternally separated from God. He will [not consider whether or not they knew] the laws that he [gave to Moses]. And all the [Jews] who have sinned in spite of knowing the laws that [God gave to Moses will also be punished] {[God will also punish them]}. [They will be punished for disobeying] God’s laws.

13 For the hereris of lawe ben not iust anentis God, but the doeris of the lawe schulen be maad iust.

[It is right for them to be punished] {[God to punish them]} [because] it is not those who [merely] know God’s laws whom he considers to be righteous. On the contrary, it is only those who continually have obeyed [all] (of [God’s] laws/of the laws that [God gave to Moses]) (whom God will consider righteous/whose record of sins God will erase).

14 For whanne hethene men that han not lawe, don kyndli tho thingis that ben of the lawe, thei not hauynge suche manere lawe, ben lawe to hem silf,

Whenever the non-Jews, who do not have the laws [God gave to Moses], naturally obey those laws, [they prove that] they have a law within their own minds, even though they do not have the laws [God gave to Moses].

15 that schewen the werk of the lawe writun in her hertis. For the conscience of hem yeldith to hem a witnessyng bytwixe hem silf of thouytis that ben accusynge or defendynge,

They show that they know in their own minds what God [commands in his] laws [MET], as each person in his very own conscience either accuses or excuses/defends himself [concerning his own behavior].

16 in the dai whanne God schal deme the priuy thingis of men aftir my gospel, bi Jhesu Crist.

God [will punish people] at the time when he will judge them according to what they have thought and done. He will judge them [even] for the things that they have done secretly. He will judge people by [authorizing] Christ Jesus [to judge them]. This is [what I tell people when] I preach the gospel to them.

17 But if thou art named a Jew, and restist in the lawe, and hast glorie in God,

[Now I have something to say to any one of] you [Jews to whom I am writing]: You [(sg)] boast about yourself saying, “I am a Jew.” You [(sg)] trust [that God will save you because you possess] the laws [that he gave to Moses]. You boast that [you belong to] God.

18 and hast knowe his wille, and thou lerud bi lawe preuest the more profitable thingis,

You know what God desires. Because you have been taught {[people] have taught you} [God’s] laws, you are able to know which things are right and to choose to do them.

19 and tristist thi silf to be a ledere of blynde men, the liyt of hem that ben in derknessis,

You are certain that you [are able to] show [God’s truth to non-Jews], as guides [show the road] to those who are blind [MET]. You are certain that by what you say you can show God’s way to the [non-Jews who do not understand it], as a light shows the way to [those who walk in] the darkness [MET, DOU].

20 a techere of vnwise men, a maistir of yonge children, that hast the foorme of kunnyng and of treuthe in the lawe;

[You are certain that you] can instruct/correct [non-Jews, whom you consider] foolish [because of their not understanding God’s message]. Because you have in [God’s] laws a [written] expression of true knowledge [HEN], you are certain that you can teach [people who, being like] children, do not know [God’s truth] [MET].

21 what thanne techist thou another, and techist not thi silf? Thou that prechist that me schal not stele, stelist?

[Since you claim that you have all these advantages because you are a Jew], (it is disgusting that you who teach other people [that they should obey the laws God gave Moses] do not [obey the laws that you] yourself teach!/why is it that you who teach other people [that they should obey the laws God gave Moses] do not [obey the laws that you] yourself teach?) [RHQ] You who preach that people should not steal things, it is disgusting that you yourself steal things! [RHQ]

22 Thou that techist that me schal `do no letcherie, doist letcherie? Thou that wlatist maumetis, doist sacrilegie?

You who command people not to have sexual relations with someone to whom they are not married, it is disgusting that you commit adultery yourself! [RHQ] You who detest idols, it is disgusting that you rob temples [where people worship idols]! [RHQ]

23 Thou that hast glorie in the lawe, vnworschipist God bi brekyng of the lawe?

You who boast saying, “[I have God’s] laws,” it is disgusting that you disobey those same laws! [RHQ] As a result you are insulting God!

24 For the name of God is blasfemed bi you among hethene men, as is writun.

[You must not be like our ancestors, about whom] were written [these words in the Scriptures: ] “The non-Jews speak evil about God because of [the evil actions of] many of you [Jews].” The non-Jews say God must be a hypocrite if he condones the behavior of people like you.

25 For circumcisioun profitith, if thou kepe the lawe; but if thou be a trespassour ayens the lawe, thi circumsicioun is maad prepucie.

Any one of you who [is] circumcised [to show that he belongs to God] can benefit from that if he obeys the laws [God gave to Moses]. But if you [(sg), a circumcised person], disobey [God’s] laws, [God will consider that] you who are circumcised are no better [in God’s sight] than [someone who is] not circumcised.

26 Therfor if prepucie kepe the riytwisnessis of the lawe, whethir his prepucie schal not be arettid in to circumcisioun?

This means that God will certainly consider that even [non-Jews who are] not circumcised can become his people if they obey the things that he commanded in his laws. [RHQ]

27 And the prepucie of kynde that fulfillith the lawe, schal deme thee, that bi lettre and circumcisioun art trespassour ayens the lawe.

[If any one of] you disobeys God’s laws, even though [you(sg) have] the Scriptures and even though someone has circumcised you {you are circumcised} [God will punish you]. And those people who are not circumcised, but who obey God’s laws, [will declare that God is right] when he says that he will punish you.

28 For he that is in opene is not a Jew, nether it is circumsicioun that is openli in the fleisch;

It is not those who perform rituals [to show they are God’s people] who are [true] Jews, and it is not being circumcised in their bodies [that causes God to accept them] [MTY].

29 but he that is a Jew in hid, and the circumcisioun of herte, in spirit, not bi the lettre, whos preisyng is not of men, but of God.

On the contrary, we whom [God has changed] inwardly are [true] Jews [MTY]. And [God has accepted us because we have allowed God’s] Spirit to change our hearts, not because we perform rituals. Even if [other] people will not praise us [for that change], God will praise us.