Yoshua 20
1 Baada ya hayo, Yahweh akamwambia Yoshua,
Then Yahweh said to Joshua,
2 “Waambia watu wa Israeli, na kusema, 'Chagueni miji ya makimbilio ambayo niliwaambia kupitia kwa Musa.
“Tell the Israeli people that they should choose some cities to which people [can run] in order to be safe/protected, like I told Moses that they should do.
3 Fanyeni hivi ili mtu akiua mtu bila kukusudia aweze kwenda huko. Miji hii itakuwa ni sehemu ya kukimbilia kutoka kwa mtu yeyote yule anayetaka kulipiza kisasi kwa damu ya mtu aliyeuliwa.
If someone kills another person accidentally, not intending to kill that person, the one who killed that person may run/escape to one of these cities and be safe/protected from someone trying to get revenge for that person’s death [MTY].
4 Atakimbilia kwa mji mmoja miongoni mwa miji hiyo na atasimama mlangoni mwa lango la mji, na ataeleza kesi yake kwa wazee wa mji ule. Kisha watamwingiza ndani ya mji na watampatia sehemu yake ya kuishi miongoni mwao.
When the one who killed someone arrives at the gate of one of those cities, he must stop there and tell the leaders of the city what happened. [If they believe him], they must allow him to enter the city, and they must give him a place to live among them.
5 Na kama mtu akija akataka kulipiza kisasi kwa damu ya mtu yule ambaye aliuliwa, ndipo watu wa mji hawatatakiwa kumtoa kwa wenye mamlaka mtu huyo aliyeua. Hawaruhusiwi kufanya hivyo kwasababu alimwua jirani bila kukusudia na hakuwa na chuki naye hapo awali.
If some relative of the one who was killed comes to that city to get revenge, the leaders of that city must not allow the relative to take the killer, because what happened was accidental. He did not hate that person and as a result deliberately kill him.
6 Ni lazima akae katika mji ule mpaka pale atakapokuwa amesimama mbele ya kusanyiko kwa ajili ya kuhukumiwa, hadi pale atakapokufa mtu yule anayetumika katika nafasi ya kuhani mkuu katka siku hizo. Na kisha mtu yule aliyeua bila kukusudia aweza kurudi nyumbani kwake, katika mji ule ulikotoka.
But the person who killed someone must stay in that city until the city judges put him on trial. [Only if the judges decide that the person who has run/escaped to their city did not deliberately kill the other person will they allow him to stay in that city], and he must stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. Then he may safely go back to his own town, [because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to atone/pay for the death of the person who was killed].”
7 Kwahiyo, Waisraeli wakaichaguia Kedeshi iliyoko Galilaya katika nchi ya milima ya Nafutali, Shekemu katika nchi ya milima ya Efraimu, na Kiriathi Arba (ambayo ndio Herbroni) katika nchi ya milima ya Yuda.
So the Israelis chose these cities to be cities to which people could run to be safe/protected: Kedesh in the Galilee district in the hilly area where the tribe of Naphtali lived; Shechem in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lived; Kiriath-Arba (which is [now named] Hebron) in the hilly area where the tribe of Judah lived;
8 Katika ng'ambo ya Yordani mashariki mwa Yeriko, walichagua mji wa Bezeri huko nyikani katika nyanda za kabila la Rubeni; na Ramothi Gileadi kutoka kabila la Gadi; na Golani katika Bashani, kutoka katika kabila la Manase.
Bezer, on the east side of the Jordan [River] near Jericho, in the flat land in the desert where the tribe of Reuben lived; Ramoth in the Gilead [region] in the land where the tribe of Gad lived; and Golan in the Bashan region where the tribe of Manasseh lived.
9 Hii ni miji iliyochaguliwa kwa ajili ya watu wote wa Israeli na kwa ajili ya wageni wanaoishi miongoni mwao, ili kwamba mtu yeyote amwuaye mtu bila kukusudia aweza kukimbilia huko kwa ajili ya kupata usalama. Mtu huyu hatakufa kwa mkono wa mtu yule anayetake kulipiza kisasi cha damu iliyomwagwa, mpaka hapo kwanza mtuhumiwa atakaposimama mbele ya kusanyiko la watu.
Any Israeli or any foreigner who lived among us, anyone who killed someone (accidentally/without planning to do it), was allowed to run to one of those cities, and be safe/protected from some relative of the person who died coming there and killing him to get revenge. He could stay in that city until there was a trial there [to decide whether he was telling the truth or not when he said that he did not plan to kill that person].
