Deuteronomii 17
1 non immolabis Domino Deo tuo bovem et ovem in quo est macula aut quippiam vitii quia abominatio est Domini Dei tui
“Do not sacrifice to Yahweh our God any cattle or sheep or goats that have any defects, because Yahweh hates that kind of gift.”
2 cum repperti fuerint apud te intra unam portarum tuarum quas Dominus Deus tuus dabit tibi vir aut mulier qui faciant malum in conspectu Domini Dei tui et transgrediantur pactum illius
“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.
3 ut vadant et serviant diis alienis et adorent eos solem et lunam et omnem militiam caeli quae non praecepi
Suppose someone tells you that that person has worshiped and served other gods, or the sun, or the moon, or the stars.
4 et hoc tibi fuerit nuntiatum audiensque inquisieris diligenter et verum esse reppereris et abominatio facta est in Israhel
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,
5 educes virum ac mulierem qui rem sceleratissimam perpetrarunt ad portas civitatis tuae et lapidibus obruentur
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.
6 in ore duorum aut trium testium peribit qui interficietur nemo occidatur uno contra se dicente testimonium
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.
7 manus testium prima interficiet eum et manus reliqui populi extrema mittetur ut auferas malum de medio tui
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.”
8 si difficile et ambiguum apud te iudicium esse perspexeris inter sanguinem et sanguinem causam et causam lepram et non lepram et iudicum intra portas tuas videris verba variari surge et ascende ad locum quem elegerit Dominus Deus tuus
“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].
9 veniesque ad sacerdotes levitici generis et ad iudicem qui fuerit illo tempore quaeresque ab eis qui indicabunt tibi iudicii veritatem
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.
10 et facies quodcumque dixerint qui praesunt loco quem elegerit Dominus et docuerint te
After they make their decision, you must do what they tell you to do.
11 iuxta legem eius sequeris sententiam eorum nec declinabis ad dextram vel ad sinistram
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].
12 qui autem superbierit nolens oboedire sacerdotis imperio qui eo tempore ministrat Domino Deo tuo et decreto iudicis morietur homo ille et auferes malum de Israhel
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.
13 cunctusque populus audiens timebit ut nullus deinceps intumescat superbia
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.”
14 cum ingressus fueris terram quam Dominus Deus tuus dabit tibi et possederis eam habitaverisque in illa et dixeris constituam super me regem sicut habent omnes per circuitum nationes
“[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.’
15 eum constitues quem Dominus Deus tuus elegerit de numero fratrum tuorum non poteris alterius gentis hominem regem facere qui non sit frater tuus
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.
16 cumque fuerit constitutus non multiplicabit sibi equos nec reducet populum in Aegyptum equitatus numero sublevatus praesertim cum Dominus praeceperit vobis ut nequaquam amplius per eandem viam revertamini
[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’]!
17 non habebit uxores plurimas quae inliciant animum eius neque argenti et auri inmensa pondera
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.
18 postquam autem sederit in solio regni sui describet sibi deuteronomium legis huius in volumine accipiens exemplar a sacerdotibus leviticae tribus
“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.
19 et habebit secum legetque illud omnibus diebus vitae suae ut discat timere Dominum Deum suum et custodire verba et caerimonias eius quae lege praecepta sunt
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.
20 nec elevetur cor eius in superbiam super fratres suos neque declinet in partem dextram vel sinistram ut longo tempore regnet ipse et filii eius super Israhel
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.”
