Deuteronomio 21
1 Si alguien es encontrado muerto en la tierra que Yahvé vuestro Dios te da para poseer, tirado en el campo, y no se sabe quién lo ha herido,
“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 entonces saldrán tus ancianos y tus jueces, y medirán a las ciudades que están alrededor del muerto.
[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 Los ancianos de la ciudad más cercana al muerto tomarán una novilla del rebaño que no haya sido trabajada y que no haya sido arrastrada por el yugo.
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 Los ancianos de esa ciudad llevarán la novilla a un valle con aguas corrientes, que no esté arado ni sembrado, y le romperán el cuello allí en el valle.
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 Los sacerdotes hijos de Leví se acercarán, porque a ellos ha elegido Yahvé vuestro Dios para que le sirvan y bendigan en nombre de Yahvé; y según su palabra se decidirá toda controversia y todo asalto.
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 Todos los ancianos de la ciudad más cercana al muerto se lavarán las manos sobre la vaquilla cuyo cuello fue quebrado en el valle.
The elders from the closest town must wash their hands over the young cow whose neck was broken,
7 Responderán y dirán: “Nuestras manos no han derramado esta sangre, ni nuestros ojos la han visto.
and they must say, ‘We did not murder this person [MTY], and we did not see who did it.
8 Perdona, Yahvé, a tu pueblo Israel, al que has redimido, y no permitas la sangre inocente en tu pueblo Israel.” La sangre les será perdonada.
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 Así eliminaréis la sangre inocente de entre vosotros, cuando hagáis lo que es justo a los ojos de Yahvé.
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 Cuando salgas a luchar contra tus enemigos, y el Señor tu Dios los entregue en tus manos y los lleves cautivos,
“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 y veas entre los cautivos a una mujer hermosa, y te atraiga y desees tomarla como esposa,
one of you may see among them a beautiful woman that he likes, and he may want to marry her.
12 entonces la llevarás a tu casa. Ella se afeitará la cabeza y se cortará las uñas.
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 Se quitará la ropa de su cautiverio y se quedará en tu casa, y llorará a su padre y a su madre un mes entero. Después entrarás con ella y serás su esposo, y ella será tu esposa.
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 no te gusta, la dejarás ir a donde quiera, pero no la venderás por dinero. No la tratarás como a una esclava, porque la has humillado.
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 hombre tiene dos esposas, una amada y otra odiada, y le han dado hijos, tanto la amada como la odiada, y si el hijo primogénito es de la odiada,
“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 entonces será, el día que haga heredar a sus hijos lo que tiene, que no dará al hijo de la amada los derechos de primogénito antes que al hijo de la odiada, que es el primogénito;
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 sino que reconozca al primogénito, el hijo del odiado, dándole una doble porción de todo lo que tiene, porque él es el principio de su fuerza. El derecho del primogénito es suyo.
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 hombre tiene un hijo testarudo y rebelde que no obedece la voz de su padre ni la de su madre, y aunque lo castiguen, no les hace caso,
“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 entonces su padre y su madre lo agarrarán y lo llevarán a los ancianos de su ciudad y a la puerta de su lugar.
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 Dirán a los ancianos de su ciudad: “Este hijo nuestro es terco y rebelde. No quiere obedecer nuestra voz. Es un glotón y un borracho”.
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 Todos los hombres de su ciudad lo apedrearán hasta que muera. Así eliminarán el mal de entre ustedes. Todo Israel escuchará y temerá.
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 Si un hombre ha cometido un pecado digno de muerte, y es condenado a muerte, y lo cuelgas en un madero,
“If someone is executed for having committed a crime for which he deserves to die, and you hang his corpse on a post,
23 su cuerpo no permanecerá toda la noche en el madero, sino que lo enterrarás el mismo día; porque el ahorcado es maldito por Dios. No contamines tu tierra que el Señor, tu Dios, te da en herencia.
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.”
