Deuteronomii 21
1 Quando inventum fuerit in terra, quam Dominus Deus tuus daturus est tibi, hominis cadaver occisi, et ignorabitur caedis reus,
If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
2 egredientur maiores natu, et iudices tui, et metientur a loco cadaveris singularum per circuitum spatia civitatum:
your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.
3 et quam viciniorem ceteris esse perspexerint, seniores civitatis illius tollent vitulam de armento, quae non traxit iugum, nec terram scidit vomere,
Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work,
4 et ducent eam ad vallem asperam atque saxosam, quae numquam arata est, nec sementem recepit: et caedent in ea cervices vitulae:
bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream.
5 accedentque sacerdotes filii Levi, quos elegerit Dominus Deus tuus ut ministrent ei, et benedicant in nomine eius, et ad verbum eorum omne negotium, et quidquid mundum, vel immundum est, iudicetur.
And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.
6 Et venient maiores natu civitatis illius ad interfectum, lavabuntque manus suas super vitulam, quae in valle percussa est,
Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,
7 et dicent: Manus nostrae non effuderunt sanguinem hunc, nec oculi viderunt.
and they shall declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.
8 propitius esto populo tuo Israel, quem redemisti Domine, et ne reputes sanguinem innocentem in medio populi tui Israel. Et auferetur ab eis reatus sanguinis:
Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
9 tu autem alienus eris ab innocentis cruore, qui fusus est, cum feceris quod praecepit Dominus.
So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
10 Si egressus fueris ad pugnam contra inimicos tuos, et tradiderit eos Dominus Deus tuus in manu tua, captivosque duxeris,
When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive,
11 et videris in numero captivorum mulierem pulchram, et adamaveris eam, voluerisque habere uxorem,
if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife,
12 introduces eam in domum tuam: quae radet caesariem, et circumcidet ungues,
then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,
13 et deponet vestem, in qua capta est: sedensque in domo tua, flebit patrem et matrem suam uno mense: et postea intrabis ad eam, dormiesque cum illa, et erit uxor tua.
and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
14 Si autem postea non sederit animo tuo, dimittes eam liberam, nec vendere poteris pecunia, nec opprimere per potentiam: quia humiliasti eam.
And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
15 Si habuerit homo uxores duas, unam dilectam, et alteram odiosam, genueritque ex eis liberos, et fuerit filius odiosae primogenitus,
If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,
16 volueritque substantiam inter filios suos dividere: non poterit filium dilectae facere primogenitum, et praeferre filio odiosae,
when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife.
17 sed filium odiosae agnoscet primogenitum, dabitque ei de his quae habuerit cuncta duplicia: iste est enim principium liberorum eius, et huic debentur primogenita.
Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.
18 Si genuerit homo filium contumacem et protervum, qui non audierit patris aut matris imperium, et coercitus obedire contempserit:
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,
19 apprehendent eum, et ducent ad seniores civitatis illius, et ad portam iudicii,
his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown,
20 dicentque ad eos: Filius noster iste protervus et contumax est, monita nostra audire contemnit, comessationibus vacat, et luxuriae atque conviviis:
and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
21 lapidibus eum obruet populus civitatis: et morietur, ut auferatis malum de medio vestri, et universus Israel audiens pertimescat.
Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
22 Quando peccaverit homo quod morte plectendum est, et adiudicatus morti appensus fuerit in patibulo:
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,
23 non permanebit cadaver eius in ligno, sed in eadem die sepelietur: quia maledictus a Deo est qui pendet in ligno: et nequaquam contaminabis Terram tuam, quam Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi in possessionem.
you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
