Deuteronomio 19
1 Cuando las naciones, cuya tierra el Señor tu Dios les está dando, hayan sido destruidas por él, y ustedes hayan tomado su lugar y están viviendo en sus ciudades y en sus casas;
After Yahweh our God has gotten rid of the people-groups from the land that he is giving to you, and after you have expelled them from their cities and you start to live in their houses,
2 Tendrán tres ciudades marcadas en la tierra que el Señor tu Dios les da para su herencia.
you must divide into three parts the land that he is giving to you. Then choose a city in each part. You must make good roads [in order that people can get to those cities easily]. Someone who kills another person can escape to one of those cities [to be safe/protected].
3 Deben preparar un camino y ver que la tierra que el Señor tu Dios les está dando para su herencia se dividida en tres partes, a las que cualquier homicida puede ir en fuga.
4 Esta es la regla para todo aquel que huya allí, después de causar la muerte de su vecino por error y no a través del odio;
“This is the rule about someone who has killed another person. If someone (accidentally/without planning to) kills another person who was not his enemy, he may escape to one of those cities and be safe/protected there.
5 Por ejemplo, si un hombre va al bosque con su vecino para cortar árboles, y cuando toma su hacha para dar un golpe al árbol, la cabeza del hacha se desprende y cae y a su prójimo le da una herida causando su muerte; entonces el hombre puede ir en vuelo a uno de estos pueblos y estar a salvo;
For example, if two men go into the forest to cut some wood, if the axe head comes off the handle while one of them is chopping down a tree and the axe head strikes and kills the other man, the man [who was using the axe] will be allowed to run to one of those cities and be safe there, [because the people of that city will protect him].
6 Porque si no, el que tiene el derecho de castigo puede ir corriendo tras el que toma la vida en el calor de su ira, y alcanzarlo porque el camino es largo, y darle un golpe mortal; aunque no es correcto que lo maten porque no fue movido por el odio.
Because he accidentally killed someone, and because the man was not his enemy, he can try to run to one of those cities. If there were only one city, it may be a long distance to that city. Then if the relative of the man who was killed [MTY], the man who is supposed/expected to get revenge, is very angry, he may be able to catch the other person before he arrives at that city.
7 Y por eso les estoy ordenando que vean que tres ciudades están marcadas para este propósito.
[To prevent that from happening], you must choose three cities, not only one, [in order that someone can get to one of those cities quickly].
8 Y si el Señor su Dios amplía los límites de su tierra, como dijo en su juramento a sus padres, y les da toda la tierra que se comprometió a dar a tus padres;
“If you do everything that I am today commanding you to do, and if you love Yahweh our God, and if you conduct your lives as he wants you to do, Yahweh our God will give you much more land than you will have when you first occupy it, which is what he promised to do. He will give you all the land which he promised your ancestors that he would give to you. When he gives you that land, you must select three more cities [to which people may escape].
9 Si guardas y cumples todas estas órdenes que les doy hoy, amar al Señor tu Dios y andar siempre en sus caminos; luego añadirán otras tres ciudades más, además de estas tres, marcadas para ustedes:
10 Para que en toda tu tierra, que el Señor tu Dios les da por su herencia, ningún hombre sea condenado a muerte, por lo cual serán responsables.
Do this in order that people who (are innocent/have killed someone else without planning to) will not die, and you will not be guilty for [allowing] them to be executed, in the land that Yahweh is giving to you.
11 Pero si algún hombre odia a su prójimo, esperando secretamente lo ataca y le da un golpe que causa su muerte, y luego huye a una de estas ciudades;
“But suppose someone hates his enemy and hides and waits for that person [to come along the road]. Then [when he passes by, suddenly] he attacks him and murders him. If the attacker flees to one of those cities [to be protected there],
12 Los hombres responsables de su pueblo deben enviarlo y llevárselo, y entregarlo al que tiene el derecho de castigo para que lo condene a muerte.
the elders of the city [where the murdered man lived must not protect the attacker. They]. must send someone to the city to which the other man escaped, and bring him to [MTY] the relative who is supposed/expected to get revenge, so that he may execute that man.
13 No tengan piedad de él, para que Israel pueda ser limpio de la sangre del inocente, y les irá bien en toda las cosas.
You must not pity those who murder other people! Instead, you must execute them, in order that the people in the land of Israel will not murder [MTY] innocent people, and in order that things will go well for you.”
14 El lindero de tu vecino, que fue puesto en su lugar por los hombres de los tiempos antiguos, no debe ser movido o arrebatado en la tierra de su herencia que el Señor tu Dios les está dando.
“[When you are living] in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, do not move the markers of your neighbors’ property boundaries which were placed there long ago.”
15 Un testigo no puede hacer una declaración contra un hombre en relación con cualquier pecado o maldad que haya cometido. En la palabra de dos o tres testigos, la causa debe ser juzgada.
“If someone is accused of committing a crime, one (witness/person who says, ‘I saw him do it’) is not enough. There must be at least two (witnesses/people who say, ‘We saw him do it’). [If there is only one witness], the judge must not believe that what he says is true.
16 Si un testigo falso hace una declaración en contra de un hombre, diciendo que ha hecho algo malo,
“If someone tries to do wrong to another person by falsely accusing him,
17 Entonces los dos hombres, entre los cuales tuvo lugar la discusión, deben presentarse ante el Señor, ante los sacerdotes y jueces que están en el poder;
both of them must go to the place where the people worship, to [talk to] the priests and judges who are serving at that time.
18 Y los jueces verán la pregunta con cuidado: y si se ve al testigo como falso y ha hecho una declaración falsa contra su hermano,
The judges must (investigate the case carefully/try to find out which one is telling the truth). If [the judges determine that] one of them has accused the other falsely,
19 Entonces hazle a él lo que era su propósito hacer a su hermano, y así quitarás el mal de entre ti.
that person must be punished in the same way that the other one would have been punished [if the judge decided that he (was guilty/had done what is wrong)]. By punishing such people, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.
20 Y el resto de la gente, al oírlo, se llenará de temor, y nunca más volverá a hacer semejante maldad entre ti.
And/Because when that person is punished, everyone will hear what has happened, and they will be afraid, and no one will dare to act that way any more.
21 No tengas piedad; vida por vida, ojo por ojo, diente por diente, mano por mano, pie por pie.
You must not pity people who are punished like that. The rule should be that a person who has murdered someone else must be executed; one of a person’s eyes must be gouged out if he has gouged out someone else’s eye, one tooth of a person who has knocked out the tooth of another person must be knocked out; one hand of a person who has cut off the hand of another person must likewise be cut off; one foot of a person who has cut off the foot of another person must also be cut off.”
