Ponovljeni zakon 19

1 Kad Jahve, Bog tvoj, istrijebi narode čiju zemlju tebi daje te kad ih istjeraš i nastaniš se u njihovim gradovima i domovima,

“When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to you, and when you possess it and live in its cities and buildings,

2 u zemlji koju ti Jahve, Bog tvoj, daje u baštinu, odvoji tri grada.

you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession,

3 Načini put onamo, a onda područje zemlje koju ti Jahve, Bog tvoj, daje u baštinu podijeli natroje, tako da svaki ubojica može onamo uteći.

paving the road carefully. And you shall divide the entire province of your land equally into three parts, so that he who is forced to flee because of manslaughter may have a place nearby to which he may be able to escape.

4 Ovo je slučaj u kojemu ubojica može onamo pobjeći i spasiti svoj život: kad tko ubije svoga bližnjega nehotice, a da ga prije nije mrzio;

This shall be the law of the killer who flees, whose life is to be saved. Whoever strikes down his neighbor unwillingly, and who has been proven to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before,

5 primjerice, kad ode sa svojim bližnjim u šumu da siječe drva, zamahne sjekirom u ruci da obori drvo, gvožđe odleti s držalice i pogodi njegova druga te on pogine: takav ubojica neka uteče u jedan od tih gradova i spasit će život.

such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live.

6 Inače bi krvni osvetnik, progoneći u svom bijesu ubojicu - kad bi put bio predug - mogao gonjenoga stići i pogubiti ga, iako taj nije zaslužio smrt budući da ubijenoga nije otprije mrzio.

Otherwise, perhaps the near relative of him whose blood was shed, impelled by his grief, might pursue and apprehend him, unless the way is too long, and he might strike down the life of him who is not guilty unto death, since he had demonstrated that he had no prior hatred against him who was slain.

7 Stoga ti nalažem: tri grada odvoji!

For this reason, I instruct you to separate three cities at equal distance from one another.

8 A kad Jahve, Bog tvoj, proširi tvoje područje, kao što se zakleo ocima tvojim, i dadne ti svu zemlju koju je obećao tvojim ocima,

And when the Lord your God will have enlarged your borders, just as he swore to your fathers, and when he will have given to you all the land that he has promised to them,

9 budeš li držao i vršio sve ove zapovijedi što ti ih danas nalažem i ljubio Jahvu, Boga svoga, te hodio njegovim putovima sve vrijeme - onda ovim gradovima dodaj još tri grada:

(but this is only so if you will keep his commandments and do the things which I instruct to you this day, so that you love the Lord your God, and walk in his ways at all times) you shall add for yourselves three other cities, and so you shall double the number of the three cities stated above.

10 tako se neće prolijevati nedužna krv u tvojoj zemlji koju ti Jahve daje u baštinu i nećeš se krvlju okaljati.

So may innocent blood not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord your God will give you to possess, lest you be guilty of blood.

11 Ali ako tko mrzi svoga bližnjega i vreba ga, skoči na nj i ubije ga, a zatim pobjegne u jedan od tih gradova,

But if anyone, having hatred for his neighbor, will have lain in ambush for his life, and, rising up, will have struck him, and he will have died, and if he will have fled to one of the cities stated above,

12 onda neka starješine onoga grada izvedu ubojicu i predaju ga u ruke krvnom osvetniku da ga pogubi.

the elders of his city shall send, and they shall take him from the place of refuge, and they shall deliver him into the hand of the relative of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.

13 Neka ga oko tvoje ne sažaljuje! Tako ćeš u Izraelu iskorijeniti prolijevanje nedužne krvi i bit ćeš sretan.

You shall not take pity on him, and so shall you take away the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may be well with you.

14 Nemoj pomicati susjedova međaša kojim su stari razmeđašili tvoj posjed što ćeš ga naslijediti u zemlji koju ti Jahve, Bog tvoj, daje u baštinu.

You shall not take up or move the landmark of your neighbor, which those before you have placed, in your possession that the Lord your God will give to you, in the land you will receive to possess.

15 Neka ne ustaje jedan jedini svjedok protiv čovjeka ni za koju krivnju i ni za kakav zločin. Kakav god bio prekršaj, neka presuda počiva na iskazu dvojice ili trojice svjedoka.

One witness shall not stand against another, no matter what the sin or outrage may be. For every word shall stand by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

16 Ako kakav krivi svjedok ustane protiv koga optužujući ga za pobunu,

If a lying witness will have stood against a man, accusing him of a transgression,

17 onda obojica koja se parbe neka stupe pred Jahvu, pred svećenika i suce koji budu vršili službu u to vrijeme.

both of those whose case it is shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges who shall be in those days.

18 Neka suci provedu temeljitu istragu. Bude li se pokazalo da je svjedok lažan i da je lažno svjedočio protiv svoga brata,

And when, after a very diligent examination, they will have found that the false witness had told a lie against his brother,

19 učinite mu onako kako je on kanio svome bratu. Iskorijeni zlo iz svoje sredine!

they shall render to him just as he intended to do to his brother. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.

20 Drugi će, kad o tome čuju, pobojati se te više neće činiti takva zla u tvojoj sredini.

Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.

21 Neka ti se oko ne sažaljuje! Život za život; oko za oko; zub za zub; ruka za ruku; noga za nogu.

You shall not take pity on him. Instead, you shall require a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.”