Deuteronomio 21
1 Si en la tierra que Yavé tu ʼElohim te da para que la poseas, es hallada una persona asesinada, tendida en el campo, y no se sabe quién la asesinó,
“When there will have been found in the land, which the Lord your God will give to you, the corpse of a man who has been killed, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder,
2 entonces saldrán tus ancianos y tus jueces y medirán la distancia hasta las ciudades que circundan al muerto.
your judges and those greater by birth shall go out and measure, from the place of the corpse, the distance to each of the surrounding cities.
3 Los ancianos de la ciudad más cercana al lugar donde fue hallado el cadáver tomarán una becerra de la manada de ganado vacuno que aún no trabajó ni llevó yugo.
And in whichever one they perceive to be closer than the others, the elders shall take a calf from the herd, one which has not pulled with a yoke, nor tilled with a plow.
4 Los ancianos de aquella ciudad harán bajar la becerra a un valle que tenga agua corriente, donde nunca se aró ni se sembró, y allí en el valle, desnucarán la becerra.
And they shall lead it into a rough and stony valley, one which has never been tilled or sown. And in that place, they shall cut the neck of the calf.
5 Entonces los sacerdotes hijos de Leví se acercarán, porque a ellos escogió Yavé tu ʼElohim para que le sirvan y para bendecir en el Nombre de Yavé, por cuya decisión se resolverá toda disputa y todo asalto.
And the priests the sons of Levi shall approach, those whom the Lord your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and to decide every controversy by their word, and to judge which things are clean and which are unclean.
6 Todos los ancianos de aquella ciudad, la más cercana al cadáver, lavarán sus manos en el arroyo sobre la becerra desnucada
And those greater by birth of that city, nearest to the one who was slain, shall go and shall wash their hands over the calf that was killed in the valley.
7 y declararán: Nuestras manos no derramaron esta sangre, ni lo vieron nuestros ojos.
And they shall say: ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.
8 Oh Yavé, perdona a tu pueblo Israel, al cual redimiste, y no culpes de sangre inocente a tu pueblo Israel. La sangre les servirá como sacrificio que apacigua.
Be merciful to your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, and do not charge them with innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.’ And so the guilt of the blood will be taken away from them.
9 Así quitarás la culpa por la sangre inocente de en medio de ti, cuando hagas lo recto ante Yavé.
Then you will be free from the blood that was shed against the innocent, when you will have done as the Lord has instructed you.
10 Cuando salgas a la guerra contra tus enemigos, y Yavé tu ʼElohim los entregue en tus manos, y los tomes cautivos,
If you have gone out to fight against your enemies, and the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand, and if, as you are leading away the captives,
11 y entre los cautivos veas a alguna mujer hermosa, y tengas un deseo de tomarla para ti como esposa,
you see among the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and you love her, and you are willing to have her as a wife:
12 la llevarás a tu casa. Ella rapará su cabeza y se cortará las uñas.
then you shall lead her into your house. And she shall shave off her hair, and cut her nails short,
13 Luego se quitará la ropa de cautiva y se quedará en tu casa. Hará duelo por su padre y por su madre durante un mes. Después podrás unirte a ella, y tú serás su esposo y ella tu esposa.
and remove the garment in which she was captured. And she shall sit in your house and weep for her father and mother, for one month. And after that, you shall enter to her and sleep with her, and she shall be your wife.
14 Pero si ella no te agrada, la dejarás en libertad. No la venderás por dinero, ni la tendrás como esclava, porque tú la humillaste.
But if afterwards she does not sit well in your mind, you shall set her free. You cannot sell her for money, nor can you oppress her by force. For you have humiliated her.
15 Si un hombre tiene dos mujeres, la una amada y la otra no amada, y las dos le dan a luz hijos, y el primogénito es hijo de la no amada,
If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other hated, and they have produced children by him, and if the son of the hated wife is the firstborn,
16 el día cuando reparta sus posesiones, no puede constituir como primogénito al hijo de la mujer amada en perjuicio del hijo de la mujer no amada, quien es el primogénito.
and if he wishes to divide his substance among his sons: he cannot make the son of the beloved wife the firstborn, and so prefer him before the son of the hated wife.
17 Reconocerá como primogénito al hijo de la mujer no amada, y le dará el doble de todo lo que posea, pues él es la primicia de su vigor. Tiene jerarquía de primogenitura.
Instead, he shall acknowledge the son of the hated wife as the firstborn, and he shall give to him a double portion of all that he has. For he is the first among his children, and the rights of the firstborn are owed to him.
18 Cuando un hombre tenga un hijo porfiado y rebelde, que no obedece la voz de su padre ni de su madre, y cuando ellos lo disciplinan no les obedece,
If a man produces a disobedient and reckless son, who will not listen to the orders of his father or mother, and, having been corrected, shows contempt for obedience:
19 entonces su padre y su madre lo agarrarán y lo llevarán a los ancianos en la puerta de su ciudad.
they shall take him and lead him to the elders of the city and to the gate of judgment.
20 Y dirán a los ancianos de su ciudad: Este hijo nuestro es porfiado y rebelde. No obedece a nuestra voz. Es glotón y borracho.
And they shall say to them: ‘This our son is reckless and disobedient. He shows contempt when listening to our admonitions. He occupies himself with carousing, and self-indulgence, and feasting.’
21 Entonces todos los hombres de su ciudad lo apedrearán hasta que muera. Así quitarás el mal de en medio de ti, y todo Israel oirá y temerá.
Then the people of the city shall stone him to death. And he shall die, so that you may take away the evil from your midst. And so may all of Israel, upon hearing it, be very afraid.
22 Si alguno cometió un delito digno de muerte, y es condenado a muerte, y lo cuelgan en un madero,
When a man will have sinned in a matter which is punished by death, and, having been judged unto death, he has been hanged on a gallows:
23 no dejarás que su cadáver pase la noche en el madero. Sin falta lo enterrarás el mismo día, porque maldito por ʼElohim es el colgado. Así no contaminarás la tierra que Yavé tu ʼElohim te da como herencia.
his corpse shall not remain on the tree. Instead, he shall be buried on the same day. For he who hangs from a tree has been cursed by God, and you shall not defile your land, which the Lord your God will give to you as a possession.”
