Safe Towns
(Numbers 35.9-28Joshua 20.1-9)Moses said to Israel:
1 Soon you will go into the land and attack the nations. The Lord your God will destroy them and give you their lands, towns, and homes. Then after you are settled, 2-4 you must choose three of your towns to be Safe Towns. Divide the land into three regions with one Safe Town near the middle of each, so that a Safe Town can be easily reached from anywhere in your land.
Then, if one of you accidentally kills someone, you can run to a Safe Town and find protection from being put to death. But you must not have been angry with the person you killed.
5 For example, suppose you and a friend go into the forest to cut wood. You are chopping down a tree with an ax, when the ax head slips off the handle, hits your friend, and kills him. You can run to one of the Safe Towns and save your life. 6 You don't deserve to die, since you did not mean to harm your friend. But he did get killed, and his relatives might be very angry. They might even choose one of the men from their family to track you down and kill you. If it is too far to one of the Safe Towns, the victim's relative might be able to catch you and kill you. 7 That's why I said there must be three Safe Towns.
8-9 Israel, the Lord your God has promised that if you obey his laws and teachings I'm giving you, and if you always love him, then he will give you the land he promised your ancestors. When that happens, you must name three more Safe Towns in the new territory. 10 You will need them, so innocent people won't be killed on your land while they are trying to reach a Safe Town that is too far away. You will be guilty of murder, if innocent people lose their lives because you didn't name enough Safe Towns in the land the Lord your God will give you.
11 But what if you really do commit murder? Suppose one of you hates a neighbor. So you wait in a deserted place, kill the neighbor, and run to a Safe Town. 12 If that happens, the leaders of your town must send messengers to bring you back from the Safe Town. They will hand you over to one of the victim's relatives, who will put you to death.
13 Israel, for the good of the whole country, you must kill anyone who murders an innocent person. Never show mercy to a murderer!
Property Lines
Moses said to Israel:
14 In the land the Lord is giving you, there are already stones set up to mark the property lines between fields. So don't move those stones.
Witnesses Must Tell the Truth
Moses said to Israel:
15 Before you are convicted of a crime, at least two witnesses must be able to testify that you did it.
16 If you accuse someone of a crime, but seem to be lying, 17-18 then both you and the accused must be taken to the court at the place where the Lord is worshiped. There the priests and judges will find out if you are lying or telling the truth.
If you are lying and the accused is innocent, 19-21 then you will be punished without mercy. You will receive the same punishment the accused would have received if found guilty, whether it means losing an eye, a tooth, a hand, a foot, or even your life.
Israel, the crime of telling lies in court must be punished. And when people hear what happens to witnesses that lie, everyone else who testifies in court will tell the truth.
Mizi ye matizhilo
(Mbalo 35:9-34Joshuwa 20:1-9)1 “Kowoti Yahwe Ndzimu uwo belobesa njudzi dze shango Yahwe Ndzimu uwo yabanokupa, ube ubatata, ube ugala mu mizi yabo ne mu ng'umba dzabo, 2 ushalule mizi mitatu mu shango Yahwe Ndzimu uwo yabanokupa kuithuwa. 3 Ululwamise zila, uthubulanye shango yaunopiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu uwo katatu, kuti nthu mmwe ne mmwe wabulaya atizhile ko.
4 “Ngono mbulayi ungatizhilako kuti atjile ndi woyu; ndi wabulaya nthu kusinge mwaza, asakatongo bengana naye mu misi yakapinda. 5 Ngatiti nlume unoyenda ku ishaka ne mbakidzani uwe kutema hwuni, ebe emilidza shathu kutema nti ngono shathu libe lishomoka libe liloba mbakidzani uwe ebe efa, mbulayi ngaatizhile ku mmwe we mizi iyeyi kuzwitjidza, 6 mbgwilizili we watebula malopa mu kugwadzamoyo kukwe kukulu asiti enlonda kambhata mu zila ngoti zila indefu, ebe embulaya nenguba abe asakalingisana ngofa, seakabe asi tjita ku mbakidzani uwe mu misi yakapinda. 7 Ndizo wali ndomudwa nditi shalulani mizi mikulu mitatu. 8 Ngono kowoti Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu betalabudza n'gathu wenyu sekwa bakagadzabgwe kupa botate benyu 9 kuyenda koga ngekuti mowobe muna njele kulondolodza nlayo iwoyu wandinomupa mu zhuba lino, mude Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu mutobele zila dzabo kuyenda kwakunoyenda, ngono mowopapha mizi mitatu nge mimwe mizi mikulu mitatu. 10 Mukuthame kuti malopa asina nlandu asitongo tebugwa mu shango iyeyi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu yabanomupa ili thaka kudwa kuthama kuti nlandu we kutebula malopa ube pezhugwi kwenyu.
11 “Koga ha nlume ebenga mbakidzani uwe ebe enlalila ebe emukila enkubadza ebe efa, ngono nlume iwoyo ebe etizhila ku mmwe we mizi iyeyi mikulu, 12 ipapo sholotjena dze nzi nkulu kwaanodwa banowotuma batumwa kunontola ikoko, bebe benlonga mu maboko e mbgwilizili we watebula malopa kuti afe. 13 Musitongo nhwila ngoni, koga muduse nlandu we kutebula malopa asina nlandu mu Iziraela kuti kumuyendile zubuyanana.
Migathu ye mituthu
14 “Mu thaka yamunowobe nayo mu shango iyeyi yamunopiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu kuithuwa, musitongo sedza n'gathu we mbakidzani wakatjekwa nge bahwola bantolo.
Batendeki
15 “Ntendeki nn'gompela aazolizana kutendekela mmwe nthu kutilikwa nlandu mu tjimwe tjaathama kene tjibi tjimwe koga, butendeki gwe babili kene batatu ndigo gungabonesa nthu nlandu. 16 Ha ntendeki usakatambunuka emukila mmwe nthu etilika nlandu we tjimwe tjisiitjo, 17 ipapo bubili gwabo baboneke mbeli kwa Yahwe pa bapirisiti ne basumikilisi bakabhata mu mazhuba iyawo. 18 Basumikilisi bashakisise ngono ha ntendeki ali ntendeki we manyepkhwa ngono etilika mwana wa tate babe nlandu we manyepkhwa, 19 ipapo munthamile itjetjo tjaabe eshaka kutjithamila mwana wa tate babe, ndizo muduse bubi pakati kwenyu. 20 Ngono bamwe banowohwa ngono bakatja ngono bakasitongo thama mbipo yakajali pakati kwenyu. 21 Musitongo hwa ngoni, kowobe butjilo gubhudila butjilo, zhisho libhudila zhisho, zhino libhudila zhino, tjiazha tjibhudila tjiazha ne gumbo libhudila gumbo.