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,
Wakati Yahwe Mungu wenu anayafutilia mbali mataifa, yale ambayo Yahwe Mungu wenu anawapa nchi yao, na wakati mnakuja kwao na kuishi katika miji yao na nyumba,
2 you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession,
mnapaswa kuchagua miji mitatu kwa ajili yenu katikati mwa nchi yenu ambayo Yahwe Mungu anawapa kuimiliki.
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.
Mnapaswa kujenga barabara na kugawa mipaka ya nchi yenu katika maeneo matatu, nchi ambayo Yahwe Mungu wenu anafanya kuimiliki, ili kwamba kila mmoja anayeua mtu mwingine apate kukimbia hapo.
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,
Hii ni sheria kwa ajili ya mtu anayeua mwingine na anayekimbilia huko kuishi: yeyote auae jirani yake bila kujua, na hapo awali hakumchukia-
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.
kama wakati mtu aingiapo katika msitu pamoja na jirani yake kukata kuni, na mkono wake ukata mti chini kwa shoka, na kichwa uteleza kutoka kwenye mpini na kumpiga jirani yake mpaka akafa- basi mtu huyu anapaswa kukimbilia katika moja ya miji hii na kuishi.
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.
Vinginevyo damu ya mlipiza kisasi atamfuata yeye aliyetoa uhai, na kwa hasira kali anampita kwa sababu ilikuwa safari ndefu. Na anampiga na kumuua, ijapokuwa mtu huyo akustahili kufa; na hata akustahili adhabu ya kifo kwa sababu hakumchukia jirani yake kabla hili halijatokea.
7 For this reason, I instruct you to separate three cities at equal distance from one another.
Basi sasa ninakuamuru kuchagua miji mitatu kwa ajili yako.
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,
Kama Yahwe Mungu wenu apanua mipaka yenu, kama alivyoapa kwa mababu zenu kufanya, na kuwapa nchi yote ambayo amewaahadia kuwapa mababu zenu;
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.
kama mnazishika amri hizi zote kuzifanya, ambazo ninakuamuru leo- amri za kumpenda Yahwe Mungu wenu na daima kutembea katika njia zake, basi mnapaswa kuongeza miji mitatu zaidi kwa ajili yenu, isipokuwa ile mitatu.
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.
Fanya hivi ili kwamba damu isiyo na hatia isimwangwe katikati ya nchi ambayo Yahwe Mungu wenu anawapa kwa ajili ya urithi, ili kwamba pasiwepo hatia ya damu kwenu.
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,
Lakini kama yeyote anamchukia jirani yake, uongo unamsubiri, uinuka dhidi yake, na majeraha ya kufa kwake ili kwamba anakufa, na kama basi anakimbia katika moja ya miji hii-
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.
basi wazee wa mji wake wanapaswa kumtoa na kumrudisha toka huko, na kumkabizi katika mkono wa ndugu mhusika, ili kwamba amuue.
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.
Jicho lako halipaswi kumuonea huruma; badala yake; unapaswa kuondoa hatia ya damu kutoka Israel, ili kwamba iwe vizuri kwako.
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.
Haupaswi kuondoa alama ya jirani yako ambayo wameweka katika eneo muda mrefu, katika urithi wako ambao utarithi, katika nchi ambayo Yahwe Mungu wako anakupa kumiliki.
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.
Shahidi moja peke hapaswi kuinuka dhidi ya mtu kwa ajili ya uovu wowote, au kwa ajili ya dhambi yoyote, katika jambo lolote ambalo amefanya dhambi; kwa kinywa cha mashahidi wawili, au kwa kinywa cha mashahidi watatu, kunapaswa jambo lolote lilithibitishwe.
16 If a lying witness will have stood against a man, accusing him of a transgression,
Kama ushuhuda wa mtu asiye na haki anainua dhidi ya mtu yeyote kushuhudia dhidi yake kwa mambo mabaya.
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.
Basi watu wote wawili, mmoja kati ya yule utata upo, anapaswa kusimama mbele ya Yahwe, mbele ya makuhani na waamuzi ambao wanatumika siku hizo.
18 And when, after a very diligent examination, they will have found that the false witness had told a lie against his brother,
Waamuzi wanapaswa kuchunguza kwa uangalifu; ona, kama ushahidi ni ushahidi wa uongo na umeshuhudiwa kwa uongo dhidi ya ndugu yake,
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.
basi unapaswa kufanya kwake, kama alivyokusudia kufanya kwa ndugu yake, na utaondoa uovu kutoka miongoni mwenu.
20 Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.
Basi wale wanaobaki watasikia na kuogopa, na kuanzia hapo na kuendelea hawatafanya tena aina ya ouvu miongoni mwao.
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.”
Macho yako hapaswi kuona huruma; maisha yatalipa kwa maisha, jicho kwa jicho, jino kwa jino, mkono kwa mkono, mguu kwa mguu.
