Deuteronomy 19
1 “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,
Cuando Yahvé, tu Dios, haya exterminado los pueblos cuya tierra Yahvé, tu Dios, te dará, y los hayas desposeído y habitares en sus ciudades y en sus casas,
2 you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession,
te separarás tres ciudades en medio de la tierra que Yahvé, tu Dios, te dé en posesión.
3 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.
Prepararás el camino y dividirás en tres partes el territorio de tu país que Yahvé, tu Dios, va a darte como herencia, para que en estas (ciudades) pueda refugiarse todo el que haya cometido homicidio.
4 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,
He aquí el caso en que el homicida podrá huirse allí para salvar su vida: si el que mató a su prójimo lo hizo sin querer y sin tenerle odio anteriormente.
5 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.
Uno sale, por ejemplo, con su compañero al bosque a cortar leña, y al blandir con su mano el hacha para cortar el árbol se le salta el hierro del mango e hiere a su compañero, y este muere: tal hombre se refugiará en una de aquellas ciudades y vivirá;
6 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.
no sea que el vengador de la sangre persiga en su excesivo furor al homicida y le alcance, por ser largo el camino, y le quite la vida, sin que haya merecido la muerte, pues no le odiaba anteriormente.
7 For this reason, I instruct you to separate three cities at equal distance from one another.
Por eso te mando, diciendo: Te separarás tres ciudades.
8 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,
Y cuando Yahvé tu Dios, ensanchare tus términos, como lo ha jurado a tus padres, y te diere toda la tierra que prometió dar a tus padres
9 (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.
—con tal que guardes todos estos mandamientos que yo te ordeno hoy, para ponerlos en práctica, amando a Yahvé, tu Dios, y andando en sus caminos todos los días agregarás otras tres ciudades a las tres anteriores,
10 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.
para que no se derrame sangre inocente en medio de la tierra que Yahvé, tu Dios, te dará por herencia tuya, y no caiga sangre sobre ti.
11 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,
Pero si uno por el odio que tiene a su prójimo, le pone asechanzas, y levantándose contra él le hiere mortalmente, y huye después a una de aquellas ciudades;
12 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.
entonces, los ancianos de su ciudad enviarán a sacarle de allí, y le entregarán en manos del vengador de la sangre para que muera.
13 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.
Tu ojo no tenga compasión de él; pues con eso quitarás de Israel el crimen cometido contra sangre inocente, y te irá bien.
14 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.
No moverás los lindes de tu prójimo, que pusieron los antepasados, en la heredad que has de poseer, en la tierra que Yahvé, tu Dios va a darte en posesión.
15 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.
Un solo testigo no vale contra un hombre acusado de cualquier delito o pecado, cualquiera que sea el pecado que haya cometido. Por el testimonio de dos testigos, o por el testimonio de tres testigos, se decide la causa.
16 If a lying witness will have stood against a man, accusing him of a transgression,
Cuando se levantare un testigo falso contra un hombre para acusarle de un delito,
17 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.
entonces los dos hombres que tienen el pleito comparecerán ante Yahvé, ante los sacerdotes y los jueces que hubiere en ese tiempo;
18 And when, after a very diligent examination, they will have found that the false witness had told a lie against his brother,
y si los jueces, después de una diligente investigación, hallaren que el testigo es un testigo falso y ha dicho mentira contra su hermano,
19 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.
harás con él lo mismo que él pensaba hacer con su hermano. Así extirparás el mal de en medio de ti;
20 Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.
y los demás al oírlo temerán y no cometerán más semejante maldad en medio de ti.
21 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.”
Tu ojo no tenga compasión de él: vida por vida, ojo por ojo, diente por diente, mano por mano, pie por pie.
