5 Mosebog 19
1 Naar HERREN din Gud faar udryddet de Folk, hvis Land HERREN din Gud vil give dig, og du faar dem drevet bort og har bosat dig i deres Byer og 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 udtage dig tre Byer midt i dit Land, som HERREN din Gud giver dig i 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 sætte Vejen til dem i Stand og dele dit Landomraade, som HERREN din Gud tildeler dig, i tre Dele, for at enhver Manddraber kan ty derhen.
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 Men om de Manddrabere, der har Ret til at ty derhen for at redde Livet, gælder følgende: Naar nogen af Vanvare slaar sin Næste ihjel, uden at han i Forvejen har baaret Nag til ham,
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 naar saaledes en gaar med sin Næste ud i Skoven for at fælde Træer, og hans Haand svinger Øksen for at fælde et Træ, og Jernet farer ud af Skaftet og rammer hans Næste, saa han dør, da maa han ty til en af disse Byer og redde Livet,
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 for at ikke Blodhævneren i Ophidselse skal sætte efter Manddraberen og, fordi Vejen er for lang, indhente ham og slaa ham ihjel, skønt han ikke havde fortjent Døden, eftersom han ikke i Forvejen havde baaret Nag til ham.
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 giver jeg dig dette Bud: Tre Byer skal du udtage dig!
For this reason, I instruct you to separate three cities at equal distance from one another.
8 Og dersom HERREN din Gud udvider dine Landemærker, som han tilsvor dine Fædre, og giver dig hele det Land, han lovede at 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 fordi du omhyggeligt overholder alle disse Bud, som jeg i Dag paalægger dig, idet du elsker HERREN din Gud og vandrer paa hans Veje alle Dage, saa skal du føje endnu tre Byer 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 for at der ikke skal udgydes uskyldigt Blod i dit Land, som HERREN din Gud giver dig i Eje, saa du paadrager dig Blodskyld.
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 en Mand, som bærer Nag til sin Næste, lægger sig paa Lur efter ham, overfalder ham og slaar ham ihjel, og han saa flygter til en af disse Byer,
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 skal hans Bys Ældste sende Bud og lade ham hente hjem derfra og overgive ham i Blodhævnerens Haand, og han skal lade sit Liv.
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 Skaan ham ikke, men rens Israel for den uskyldiges Blod, 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 maa ikke flytte din Næstes Markskel, som tidligere Slægter har sat, ved den Arvelod, du faar tildelt i det Land, HERREN din Gud vil give dig i 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 En enkelt kan ikke optræde som Vidne mod en Mand, naar det angaar Misgerning eller Synd, hvad Synd det end er, han begaar; kun paa to eller tre Vidners Udsagn kan en Sag afgøres.
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 ondsindet Vidne optræder mod nogen og beskylder ham for Lovbrud,
If a lying witness will have stood against a man, accusing him of a transgression,
17 skal begge de stridende fremstille sig for HERRENS Aasyn, for de Præster og Dommere, der er til den Tid,
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 skal undersøge Sagen grundigt, og hvis det viser sig, at Vidnet er et falsk Vidne, der har aflagt falsk Vidnesbyrd mod 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 saa skal I gøre med ham, som han havde til Hensigt at gøre med sin Broder; du skal udrydde det 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 Naar da de andre hører det, vil de gribes af Frygt og ikke mere øve en saadan Udaad i din Midte.
Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.
21 Du maa ikke vise Skaansel: 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.”
