< Deutéronome 21 >

1 Si, sur le sol que Yahweh, ton Dieu, te donne pour le posséder, on trouve un homme tué, gisant dans les champs, sans que l’on sache qui l’a frappé,
“Suppose someone has been murdered in a field in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you do not know who killed that person.
2 tes anciens et tes juges iront mesurer les distances jusqu’aux villes des environs de l’endroit où est l’homme tué.
[If that happens], your elders and judges must go out to where that person’s corpse was found and measure the distance from there to each of the nearby towns.
3 Et, quant à la ville la plus proche de l’homme tué, les anciens de cette ville prendront une génisse qui n’aura pas encore été employée au travail et qui n’aura pas tiré au joug.
Then the elders in the town that is closest to where the corpse was found must select a young cow that has never been used for doing work.
4 Les anciens de cette ville feront descendre la génisse vers un ruisseau permanent, dans un lieu qui n’a reçu ni culture ni semence, et là ils briseront la nuque de la génisse dans le ruisseau.
They must take it to a place near a stream where the ground has never been plowed or planted. They must break its neck there in that valley.
5 Les prêtres, fils de Lévi, s’approcheront; car ce sont eux que Yahweh, ton Dieu, a choisis pour le servir et pour bénir au nom de Yahweh, et c’est sur leur parole que se juge toute contestation et toute blessure.
The priests must go there also, because Yahweh our God has chosen them from the tribe of Levi to serve him and to be his representatives [MTY] when they bless people. And he has also chosen them to settle disputes in which someone has been injured.
6 Tous les anciens de cette ville, comme étant les plus voisins de l’homme tué, laveront leurs mains sur la génisse à laquelle on a brisé la nuque dans le ruisseau.
The elders from the closest town must wash their hands over the young cow whose neck was broken,
7 Puis ils prendront la parole en disant: « Nos mains n’ont pas répandu ce sang, et nos yeux ne l’ont pas vu répandre.
and they must say, ‘We did not murder this person [MTY], and we did not see who did it.
8 Pardonnez à votre peuple d’Israël que vous avez racheté, ô Yahweh, et ne laissez pas le sang innocent au milieu de votre peuple d’Israël! » Et ce sang sera expié pour eux.
Yahweh, forgive us, your Israeli people whom you rescued [from Egypt]. Do not consider (us to be guilty/that we should be punished because) of murdering someone who (is innocent/had not done something that is wrong). Instead, forgive us.’
9 C’est ainsi que tu ôteras du milieu de toi le sang innocent, en faisant ce qui est droit aux yeux de Yahweh.
By doing that, you will be doing what Yahweh considers to be right, and you will not be considered to be guilty for murdering that person.”
10 Quand tu sortiras pour combattre contre tes ennemis, et que Yahweh, ton Dieu, les aura livrés entre tes mains et que tu leur feras des prisonniers,
“When you [soldiers] go to fight against your enemies, and Yahweh our God enables you to defeat them [IDM], and (they become your prisoners/you capture them),
11 si tu vois parmi les captifs une femme de belle figure, et que, épris d’amour pour elle, tu veuilles l’épouser,
one of you may see among them a beautiful woman that he likes, and he may want to marry her.
12 tu l’amèneras dans l’intérieur de ta maison. Alors elle se rasera la tête et se coupera les ongles;
He should take her to his home, and there she must shave [all the hair off] her head and cut her fingernails [to signify that now she does not belong to her people-group any more, but instead she is becoming an Israeli].
13 elle se dépouillera des vêtements de sa captivité, elle demeurera dans ta maison et pleurera pendant un mois son père et sa mère; après quoi, tu iras vers elle, tu seras son mari et elle sera ta femme.
She must take off the clothes that she was wearing when she was captured, [and put on Israeli clothes]. She must stay in that man’s house and mourn for a month because of [leaving] her parents. After that, he will be allowed to marry her.
14 Si elle cesse de te plaire, tu la laisseras aller où elle voudra, et tu ne pourras pas la vendre pour de l’argent; tu ne la traiteras pas comme une esclave, car tu l’as eue pour femme.
Later, if he no longer is pleased with her, he will be permitted to allow her to leave him. But because she was forced to have sex with him, he will not be allowed to treat her like a slave [and sell her to someone else].”
15 Si un homme a deux femmes, l’une aimée et l’autre haïe, et qu’elles lui aient enfanté des fils, aussi bien celle qui est aimée que celle qui est haïe, si le fils premier-né est le fils de celle qui est haïe,
“Suppose that a man has two wives, but he likes one of them and dislikes the other one. And suppose that they both give birth to sons, and the oldest son is the child of the woman that he does not like.
16 il ne pourra pas, le jour où il mettra ses fils en possession de ses biens, faire premier-né le fils de celle qu’il aime, de préférence au fils de celle qu’il hait, celui-ci étant le premier-né.
On the day when that man decides how he will divide his possessions for his sons to possess [after he dies], he must not favor the son of the wife that he loves by giving him [a bigger share, ] the share that the older son should receive.
17 Mais il reconnaîtra comme premier-né le fils de celle qui est haïe, et lui donnera sur tous ses biens une portion double; car ce fils est les prémices de sa vigueur; c’est à lui qu’appartient le droit d’aînesse.
He must give to the older son, the son of the wife whom he does not like, twice as much of his possessions. That son is his firstborn son, and he must be given the share that he should receive because of his being that man’s firstborn son.”
18 Si un homme a un fils indocile et rebelle, n’écoutant ni la voix de son père, ni la voix de sa mère et, lors même qu’ils le châtient, ne les écoutant pas,
“Suppose there is a boy who is very stubborn and always (rebelling against/disobeying) [his parents], and who will not heed what they say to him. And suppose that they punish him but he still does not pay attention to what they tell him [MTY].
19 son père et sa mère le saisiront et l’amèneront aux anciens de la ville et à la porte du lieu qu’il habite.
If that happens, his parents must take him to the (gate of/central meeting place in) the city where he lives and have him stand in front of the elders of the city.
20 Ils diront aux anciens de la ville: « Notre fils que voici est indocile et rebelle, il n’écoute pas notre voix, il se livre à la débauche et à l’ivrognerie. »
Then the parents must say to the elders of that city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and always rebelling against us. He will not pay attention to what we tell him [MTY]. He wastes a lot of money (OR, eats too much food) and gets drunk.’
21 Et tous les hommes de sa ville le lapideront, et il mourra. Tu ôteras ainsi le mal du milieu de toi, et tout Israël, en l’apprenant, craindra.
Then all the elders of that city must execute him by throwing stones at him. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you. And everyone in Israel will hear [about what happened] and they will be afraid [to do what he did].”
22 Quand un homme, ayant commis un crime capital, aura été mis à mort, et que tu l’auras pendu à un bois,
“If someone is executed for having committed a crime for which he deserves to die, and you hang his corpse on a post,
23 son cadavre ne passera pas la nuit sur le bois; mais tu ne manqueras pas de l’enterrer le jour même, car un pendu est l’objet de la malédiction de Dieu, et tu ne souilleras pas ton pays, que Yahweh, ton Dieu, te donne pour héritage.
you must not allow his corpse to remain there all night. You must bury it on the day that he died, because [God] has cursed anyone whose corpse is allowed to remain on a post. [You must bury the corpse that day], in order that you do not defile the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you.”

< Deutéronome 21 >