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Matt. 6.1 (33, 1) Uuartet i/u tha/z ir iuuar reht ni tuot fora mannun, thaz ir gisehan si/t fo/n i/in, min odouu/an lo/n ni habet mit iuuaremo fater thie in himile ist.
adtendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus ut videamini ab eis, alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem vestrum qui in caelis est.
Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven.
Uuartet. Not that uu = double u = w. This must be the second person plural, probably adhortative something. We could probably translate as 'watch out'
i/u = ye 'watch ye out'
th/az = that. Here even you and I may begin to think of Grimm, sound shift and all that. Or we may not even care; do we know German? Perhaps we ought to pretend we do not. What pretend?
ir = y'all
iuuar = y'all's or your. If we know German it is all right to start making historical conjectures (= German euer)
reht = iustitiam = acc. sg., perhaps 'right'.
ni = our old friend from Gothic lesson 1. The negative.
tuot = do = 2d pl. We note again the sound shift.
fora = before. We assume it takes the dative.
mannun = dat. pl. of mann 'man'
thaz = so that
ir = y'all
gisehan = seen
si/t = 2d pl. subjunctive of the verb 'to be' (note similarity to Gothic lesson 5).
Thaz In this sense is like Latin ut, one would assume immediately. If we were following the manuscript, we might note the error of et for ut in the Latin, but who follows manuscripts? 'That ye might be seen'
fo/n = by. Takes the dative, we assume. We don't have to know any German to recognize von; even Snoopy does.
in = must be dat. pl. of the pronoun.
min odouu/an, something going on here, but what? (= otherwise)
lo/n = Gothic laun 'reward' in our previous text, lesson 1.
ni habet = 2d pl. 'will not have'
mit =with. Translation of apud. We don't need to know any German to recognize mit = 'with'. Remember the helmets with Gott mit uns 'God is with us' on them?
iuuaremo = dative singular; note its connection with iu and iuuar above.
fater = no problem
thie = relative pronoun
in himile = in heaven. Must be dative; in takes the dative.
ist = is
Note how much easier this would have been in SGML, HTML or anything ending in ML.
cum ergo facis elemosynam noli tuba canere ante te sicut hypocritae faciunt in synagogis et in vicis, ut honorificentur ab hominibus. Amen, dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam.
Therefore, when thou dost an alms deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
Thanne = when
tu/ = thou
tuos = 2d sg. pres of tuon, which we had before in lesson 1.
elimosinam = loanword.
ni = negative
tuo = must be imperative of tuon
trumbun = sort of loanword
singan = to sing. So that trumbun singan is probably a calque on tuba canere.
fora thir = before you. Fora takes dative, thir must be dative of tu/. (maybe scribal error?)
so/ = as
thie = the, nom. pl.
lihhazara = hypocrites. If you know Modern German, remember that the Germans like to add g- to things, as in MHG unst, Mod German Gunst, enough :: German genug; Gleis, etc. etc.
tuont = 3d pl. of tuon.
in dingun = in the synagogues. dingun is dat. pl. of ding = 'synagogue'
inti = and
in thorphun = dat. pl. of thorph 'street' (maybe cognate to thorp?)
thaz = ut
sie = they, nom. pl.
si/n = may be. cf. our Gothic passage.
gierete = honored. If we know Mod.Germ., we might want to put a juncture between gi and erete (gi+erete) and connect this with geehrt.
fora mannun = before men. fora takes the dative.
Vu/ar = Amen
sagen = to say. 1st pers. sg.
ih = I
i/u = probably dative of ir, cf. our first sentence, which we might now correct: uuartet iu = ward yourselves.
intphiengun = have received; those who are not German-behindert will recognize that one.
iro = their
lo/n = reward, cf. above, lesson 1 Gothic, Modern German.
Hang in there. We are making the expected mistakes, but we are also making progress. We have so far had no need of dictionary, nor of grammar.
Mt. 6.3: Thir tuontemo elimosinam, ni uuizze i/z thin uuinistra uuaz thin zesuua tuo.
Te autem faciente elimosinam, nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua.
But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.
Thir = you, 2d sg. dative (note -emo later)
tuontemo = dative of pres. part. of tuon, so this language had a dative absolute parallelling the ablative absolute of the Latin 'but you doing alms'
ni uuizze = 'let not know.' We know that uu = w, and this seems a lot like the Gothic witan, and we mentioned to wit and God wot in English. This must be the subjunctive/imperative.
i/z = it
thin uuinistra = your left hand. We know that uu = w, so winstr = left hand
uuaz = what. We may already be seeing that English /t/ is /z/ in this language, but we may not. Some are more eager than others, and some make more mistakes than others. If you know German, think of water/Wasser, vat/Fass, better/besser, etc. etc.
thin zesuua = your right hand. We know about uu, so we have a word zesw- 'right hand'. Those with a comparative bent may mess around with dexter and possible connections with zesw-.
tuo = must be subjunctive, a la Latin, of tuon. Man, we have almost conjugated tuon in the present. Those with a comparative bent, note English do :: German tun. Those even more bent/twisted, work on the uo and connections like English mother :: German Mutter, English brother :: German Bruder, English good :: German gut, English brood :: German Brut and the like.
Those with a comparative bent and a little knowledge of German might start to make up their Jones's Law on what happens to p, t, k of English in German; ditto b, d, g. Maybe even Latin if that appeals to you, e.g. pater :: German father. Go for t :: th :: d, e.g. Latin tres, English three, German drei.
Mt. 6.4: thaz thin elimosina si in tougalnesse, inti thin fater, thie i/z gisihit in tougalnesse, gelte thir.
ut sit elimosina tua in abscondito, et pater tuus, qui videt in abscondite, reddet tibi.
That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.
thaz = ut = in order that
thin = poss. adj. of thu
si = subjunctive of 'to be'
in tougalnesse = in takes dative. tougalnesse = secret-ness. If you happen to know MHG or a little MHG, you may know tougen minne diu ist guot 'secret love is good', or, if you have seen ougen at the end of a line, its rhyme-word is tougen, a common tag-line is offenbar unde tougen 'openly and secretly'.
inti = and
thin fater = thy father
thie = relative pronoun
i/z = it (we are beginning to catch on to this z for t business).
gisihit = sees, 3d sg. pres. of sehan 'to see'
in tougalnesse = in secret
gelte = will repay. Everybody knows the word Geld, perhaps cognate with yield. Note the neat trick of having this in the subjunctive, governed by the thaz above.
thir = dat. sg. of thu. We now have thu, thin, thir. If we know but a little German, we can predict that the East Franconian dialect will have the accusative thih.
I got a little ahead of myself on the tougen, but what the hay? Are we humans or not?
6.5 Thanne ir betot, ni sit thanne soso thie lihhizara, thie thar minnont in samanungu inti in giuuiggin strazono stantante beton, thaz sie sin gisehan fon mannun. Uuar ist thaz ih iu sagen: sie intphiengun iro mieta.
et cum oratis non eritis sicut hypocritae, qui amant in synagogis et in angulis platearum stantes orare, ut videantur ab hominibus. amen, dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam.
And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
Thanne = when
ir = ye, y'all
betot = pray
ni = negative
si/t = subjunctive, imperative of verb 'to be'. If you know Modern German, note that i/ (long i) corresponds to ModG [ai], as is also the case from OE to ModE, and you may remember from HEL.
thanne = then
soso = like
thie lihhizara = the hypocrites. We had this above in lesson 2.
thie = again our friend the relative pronoun.
thar = there. Just added in as often today in German dialects.
minnont = love, like. Everybody knows the German Minnesang 'love song'.
in samanungu = in gatherings
inti = and. So often abbreviated with a 7 in OHG mss., as in OE and everywhere.
in giuuiggin = on the corners
strazono = gen. pl. of straza. Everybody knows the German word Strasse.
stantante = pres. part. = standing
beton = to pray
thaz = ut = so that
sie = they
sin = may be; subjunctive of verb 'to be'.
gisehan = seen; pp. of sehan; note the gi- mark of the past participle and think of Chaucer's yclept.
fon mannun = by men
Uuar = true. Everybody remembers Goethe's Dichtung und Wahrheit 'fiction and truth'. Even John Quincey Adams read it.
ist = is
thaz = that which
ih = I
iu = dative of ir = ye
sagen = to say, tell
sie = they
intphiengun = have received
iro = their
mieta = reward. Think of English mede, Lady Mede. If you have lived in Germany even for a short time, you know the word Miete 'rent'.
6.6 Thanne thu/ mit thiu thu/ betos, gang innan thi/na camara, bislozanen thi/nen turin beto thinan fater in tougalnesse, inti thi/n fater thie gisihit in tougalnesse, giltit thir thanne.
tu autem cum orabis intra in cubiculum tuum et cluso ostio tuo ora Patrem tuum in abscondito et Pater tuus qui videt in abscondito reddet tibi
But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.
Thanne = when
thu/ = you. If you know German, you recognize that this dialect has th- for d-: Danne du/.
mit thiu = when you
betos = pray, Note the ending -s.
gang = go. Imperative.
innan = inside
thi/na = your
camara = closet. Loan word. Think chamber.
bislozanen = closed
thi/nen = your
turin = door. ModG Tür. Maybe dative absolute?
beto = pray; imperative.
thi/nan = your; accusative. Beton takes the accusative?
fater = father
in tougalnesse = in secret
inti = and
thi/n fater = your father
thie = relative pronoun
gisihit = sees. If you know German, think sieht. Infinitive is sehan.
in tougalnesse = in secret
giltit = reward. If you don't know German, think of Gelt.
thir = you; dative.
thanne = then
6.7 Betonte ni curet filu sprehan so/so/ thie heidanon man: sie uuanent thaz sie in iro filusprahhi si/n giho/rte.
orantes autem nolite multum loqui sicut ethnici. putant enim quia in multiloquio suo exaudiantur
And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard.
Betonte = pres. part. of beton 'to pray' = praying
ni curet = do not care
filu = much; ModG viel
sprehan = to speak
so/so/ = as, just as
thie heidanon man = the heathen people
sie = they
uuanent = think wrongly
thaz = that
sie = they
in iro filusprahhi = in their much-speaking; cf. filu above; sprehan above
si/n = may be; will be; subjunctive.
giho/rte = heard
Note that the last word was hausjan in Gothic, cf. lesson 6. In West Germanic, which includes English and German, there are lots of rhotacisms, not always explained. We have choose in English, küren (old fashioned, but cf. Kürfürst 'elector') in German, but hare in English, Hase in German (remember Lavoine and Shoiley's theme song). Isn't it interesting (remember Grimm's law) to note that acoustics is cognate to Gothic hausjan 'to hear', English hear, German hören? But think of how hard it is to imagine that HYPnotize and SOMnambulate are cognate. Ask the next Russian you see how you say 'I sleep' in Russian.
Continue to Lesson 8
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