Deuteronomy 17

1 “Do not sacrifice to Yahweh our God any cattle or sheep or goats that have any defects, because Yahweh hates that kind of gift.”

No sacrifiques al Señor tu Dios ganado o una oveja que tenga un defecto grave, porque eso es ofensivo para el Señor tu Dios.

2 “When you are living in any of the towns [in the land] that Yahweh our God is giving to you, suppose you hear that there is some man or woman who sins by disobeying the agreement that Yahweh has made with you.

Puede que exista un informe de que uno de ustedes, ya sea hombre o mujer, que vive en un pueblo que el Señor su Dios le dio, ha sido encontrado pecando a los ojos del Señor su Dios al romper el pacto del Señor.

3 Suppose someone tells you that that person has worshiped and served other gods, or the sun, or the moon, or the stars.

Esta persona ha hecho esto yendo a adorar a otros dioses, inclinándose ante ellos – o ante el sol, la luna o cualquiera de las estrellas del cielo – lo cual yo les he ordenado que no hagan.

4 If you hear that some person has been doing that, you must investigate it thoroughly. If [you find out that] it is true that this detestable thing has happened in Israel,

Si escuchas tal informe, necesitas hacer una investigación completa. Si se descubre que el informe es cierto, y que se ha cometido un pecado tan terrible en Israel,

5 you must take outside the town the man or woman who has done it. Then you must kill that person by throwing stones at him or her.

deben hacer que el hombre o la mujer que ha cometido este terrible acto sea expulsado del pueblo y apedreado hasta la muerte.

6 But you are allowed to execute such people only if at least two witnesses testify that they saw them [doing that]. They must not be executed if there is only one witness.

Esa persona debe ser ejecutada basándose en las pruebas aportadas por dos o tres testigos. Nadie será ejecutado sobre la base de la evidencia dada por un solo testigo.

7 The (witnesses/ones who saw them doing it) must be the first ones to throw stones at them. Then the other people [MTY] [should throw stones at them]. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.”

Los testigos deben actuar primero en la ejecución de la persona, y luego el resto de los presentes. Deben eliminar el mal de entre ustedes.

8 “Sometimes it will be very difficult for a judge to decide what really happened. He might be trying to decide whether, when someone injured or killed another person, he did it accidentally or deliberately. Or he might be trying to decide if some person is suing another person unfairly. If in some town it is very difficult to know what really happened, with the result that the judge cannot decide it, you should go to the place that Yahweh our God has chosen for you [to worship him].

Si hay un caso ante el tribunal de su ciudad que sea demasiado problemático para resolverlo ustedes mismos, ya sea que la discusión sea sobre asesinato u homicidio, una decisión legal contra otra, o diferentes grados de asalto, deben traer el asunto al lugar que el Señor su Dios elija.

9 There you should present the case to the descendants of Levi who are the priests, and to the judge who is serving at that time, and they should decide what should be done.

Acudan a los sacerdotes, a los levitas y al juez encargado. Preséntenles el caso y ellos anunciarán su decisión.

10 After they make their decision, you must do what they tell you to do.

Deben acatar la decisión que les den allí, en el lugar que el Señor elija. Asegúrense de hacer todo lo que les digan,

11 Accept what they have decided, and do what they say that you should do. Do not try to change in any way what they have decided [IDM].

conforme a las instrucciones legales que les den y según el veredicto que ellos dicten. No te desvíes de tal decisión.

12 You must execute anyone who proudly/arrogantly disobeys the judge or the priest who stands there in the presence of Yahweh [and decides what should be done]. By doing that, you will get rid of evil practices among you.

Todo aquel que trate con desprecio al sacerdote (que ministra ante el Señor su Dios) o al juez, debe ser ejecutado. Debes eliminar este mal de Israel.

13 Then [after that person is executed], all the people will hear about it, and they will be afraid, and none of them will act that way any more.”

Entonces todos los demás se enterarán y tendrán miedo, y no actuarán con desprecio en el futuro.

14 “[I know that] after you have occupied the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you are living there, you will say, ‘We should have a king to rule over us, like the kings that other nations around us have.’

Una vez que hayas entrado en la tierra que el Señor tu Dios te da, la hayas tomado y te hayas establecido en ella, y decidas: “Tengamos un rey que nos gobierne como lo hacen todas las demás naciones que nos rodean”,

15 Yahweh our God will permit you to have a king, but be sure that you appoint someone whom he has chosen. That man must be an Israeli; you must not appoint someone who is a foreigner to be your king.

puedes tener un rey pero sólo uno elegido por el Señor tu Dios. Debe ser un israelita. No debes tener un rey que sea extranjero, alguien que no sea israelita.

16 [After he becomes the king], he should not acquire a large number of horses for himself. He should not send people to Egypt to buy horses for him, because Yahweh said to you, ‘Never return to Egypt [for anything’]!

Tu rey no debe tener grandes cantidades de caballos, ni enviar a sus hombres a Egipto para comprar más caballos, porque el Señor ha declarado: “No debes volver allí nunca más”.

17 And he must not have a lot of wives, because if he did that, they would turn him [SYN] away from [worshiping only] Yahweh. And he must not acquire a lot of silver and gold.

No debe tener muchas esposas, para que no lo alejen del camino del Señor. No debe tener grandes cantidades de plata y oro.

18 “When he becomes your king, he must [appoint someone to] copy these laws. He must copy them from the scroll that is kept by the priests who are descended from Levi.

Una vez que sea rey y se siente en su trono real, debe hacer una copia para sí mismo de estas instrucciones, escribiéndolas en un pergamino en presencia de los sacerdotes levitas.

19 He must keep this new scroll near him and read from it every day of his life, in order that he may learn to revere Yahweh, and to faithfully obey [DOU] all the rules and regulations [that are written] in these laws.

Debe guardarlas con él, y debe leerlas cada día durante toda su vida, para que aprenda a respetar al Señor su Dios, teniendo cuidado de seguir cada palabra de estas instrucciones y normas.

20 If he does that, he [SYN] will not think that he is (better/more important) than [IDM] his fellow Israelis, and he will completely obey [LIT] Yahweh’s commands. As a result, he and his descendants will rule as kings in Israel for many years.”

Entonces no pensará más en sí mismo que en sus compatriotas israelitas, y no se desviará de los mandamientos, para que él y sus hijos puedan tener un largo reinado sobre el reino de Israel.