5 Mosebog 19
1 Naar Herren din Gud har udryddet Hedningerne, hvis Land Herren din Gud giver dig, og du ejer dem og bor i deres Stæder og i deres Huse:
“When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to you, and when you possess it and live in its cities and buildings,
2 Da skal du udskille dig tre Stæder midt udi dit Land, hvilket Herren din Gud giver dig til Eje.
you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession,
3 Du skal berede dig Vej til dem, og i tre Dele skal du dele dit Landemærke, som Herren din Gud lader dig arve; og det skal være saaledes, at hver Manddraber kan fly hen til den.
paving the road carefully. And you shall divide the entire province of your land equally into three parts, so that he who is forced to flee because of manslaughter may have a place nearby to which he may be able to escape.
4 Og saaledes skal der forholdes med den Manddraber, som tør fly derhen og blive ved Live: Den, som slaar sin Næste af Vanvare og har ikke hadet ham tilforn;
This shall be the law of the killer who flees, whose life is to be saved. Whoever strikes down his neighbor unwillingly, and who has been proven to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before,
5 og den, som gaar ud med sin Næste i Skoven for at hugge Træer, og hans Haand slaar til med Øksen for at afhugge Træet, og Jernet farer af Skaftet og rammer hans Næste, saa at denne dør: Han kan fly til en af disse Stæder, at han maa leve,
such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live.
6 saa at Blodhævneren ikke skal forfølge Manddraberen, medens hans Hjerte er ophidset, og naa ham, naar Vejen er lang, og slaa ham ihjel, skønt ingen Dødsdom er over ham; efterdi han ikke havde hadet ham tilforn.
Otherwise, perhaps the near relative of him whose blood was shed, impelled by his grief, might pursue and apprehend him, unless the way is too long, and he might strike down the life of him who is not guilty unto death, since he had demonstrated that he had no prior hatred against him who was slain.
7 Derfor byder jeg dig og siger: Du skal udskille dig tre Stæder.
For this reason, I instruct you to separate three cities at equal distance from one another.
8 Og dersom Herren din Gud gør dit Landemærke videre, saaledes som han har tilsvoret dine Fædre, og giver dig alt det Land, som han sagde at ville give dine Fædre;
And when the Lord your God will have enlarged your borders, just as he swore to your fathers, and when he will have given to you all the land that he has promised to them,
9 naar du holder alle disse Bud, saa du gør det, hvilket jeg befaler dig i Dag, at elske Herren din Gud og at vandre i hans Veje alle Dage: Da skal du endnu lægge dig tre Stæder til disse tre,
(but this is only so if you will keep his commandments and do the things which I instruct to you this day, so that you love the Lord your God, and walk in his ways at all times) you shall add for yourselves three other cities, and so you shall double the number of the three cities stated above.
10 at der ikke skal udøses uskyldigt Blod midt i dit Land, som Herren din Gud giver dig til Arv, og der skulde være Blodskyld paa dig.
So may innocent blood not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord your God will give you to possess, lest you be guilty of blood.
11 Men naar der er en Mand, som hader sin Næste og lurer paa ham og rejser sig imod ham og slaar ham ihjel, at han dør, og han flyr til en af disse Stæder:
But if anyone, having hatred for his neighbor, will have lain in ambush for his life, and, rising up, will have struck him, and he will have died, and if he will have fled to one of the cities stated above,
12 Da skulle de Ældste af hans Stad sende hen og hente ham derfra og give ham i Blodhævnerens Haand, og han skal dø.
the elders of his city shall send, and they shall take him from the place of refuge, and they shall deliver him into the hand of the relative of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.
13 Dit Øje skal ikke spare ham, og du skal borttage det uskyldige Blod af Israel, at det maa gaa dig vel.
You shall not take pity on him, and so shall you take away the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
14 Du skal ikke flytte din Næstes Markskel, som Forfædrene satte til Skel i din Arv, som du arver i dit Land, hvilket Herren din Gud giver dig at eje.
You shall not take up or move the landmark of your neighbor, which those before you have placed, in your possession that the Lord your God will give to you, in the land you will receive to possess.
15 Eet Vidne skal ikke staa frem imod nogen for nogen Misgerning eller for nogen Synd, i hvad Haande Synd nogen har syndet; efter to Vidners Mund eller efter tre Vidners Mund skal en Sag stadfæstes.
One witness shall not stand against another, no matter what the sin or outrage may be. For every word shall stand by the mouth of two or three witnesses.
16 Naar et uretfærdigt Vidne staar frem imod nogen, at vidne imod ham om en Overtrædelse:
If a lying witness will have stood against a man, accusing him of a transgression,
17 Da skulle de to Mænd, som have Trætte, staa frem for Herrens Ansigt, for Præsternes og Dommernes Ansigt, dem som ere i de Dage,
both of those whose case it is shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges who shall be in those days.
18 og Dommerne skulle ransage; og se, er det Vidne et falsk Vidne, som har vidnet falskeligen imod sin Broder,
And when, after a very diligent examination, they will have found that the false witness had told a lie against his brother,
19 da skulle I gøre ved ham, saaledes som han havde tænkt at gøre ved sin Broder; og du skal borttage den onde af din Midte,
they shall render to him just as he intended to do to his brother. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.
20 at de øvrige maa høre det og frygte og ikke blive ved at gøre ydermere efter denne onde Handel iblandt eder.
Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.
21 Og dit Øje skal ikke spare: Liv for Liv, Øje for Øje, Tand for Tand, Haand for Haand, Fod for Fod.
You shall not take pity on him. Instead, you shall require a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.”
