Mbulayi usingazibgwe
1 “Ha kungati mu shango iyeyi yaunopiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu uwo kuithuwa kukawang'wa mmwe akabulawa ali mu shango, kusingazibgwe kuti wakabulawa ndiani, 2 ipapo sholotjena dzidzo ne basumikilisi babo bazhe ipapo, ngono babale thambo kuyenda ku mizi mikulu yakapoteleka wakabulawa 3 ngono sholotjena dze nzi upejo ne nlume wakabulawa banowotola pholombe ye ng'ombe isakatongo shingisiwa tjimwe, isathu ikatongo kweba nge jokwi. 4 Ngono sholotjena dze nzi nkulu iwoyo bayise pholombe ku nkuku una vula inowunga usakatongo limiwa kene kukadzwagwa muuli ngono bavune ntshibha we pholombe mu nkuku iwoyo. 5 Ngono bapirisiti, bakololo ba Levi bazhe ipapo ngoti Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu bakabashalula kubashingila ne kukombolela mu zina la Yahwe, kuyendidzana ne dama labaleba kunyanyayidzana kumwe ne kumwe ne kugwisana kumwe ne kumwe kugadzikane. 6 Ipapo sholotjena dzose dze nzi iwoyo upejo ne nlume wakabulawa bangulile maboko abo pezhugwi kwe pholombe iyeyo yakavung'wa ntshibha mu nkuku, 7 ngono batendeke beti, ‘Maboko edu aazotebula malopa iyawa, nenge mesho edu dumbu aazobona malopa iyawa etebugwa. 8 Imwi Yahwe mu bazwiibhatigwe bathu benyu Baiziraela, ibo bamakadzutunula, ngono musibige nlandu we kutebula malopa asina nlandu pakati kwe bathu benyu Baiziraela, koga nlandu we kutebula malopa ngabawuzwiibhatigwe.’ 9 Ndizo muduse nlandu we kutebula malopa asina nlandu pakati kwenyu, ha mushinga tjakalulwama mu mesho a Yahwe.
Ngekwe bakadzi bakatapiwa
10 “Muti muyenda ku ngwa kunogwa ne zwita zwenyu, ngono Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu bebe bebalonga mu maboko enyu ngono mube mubatapa, 11 ngono pakati kwe batapiwa mmwe ebe ebona nkadzi wakanaka ebe eyemula, en'yemulila kunlobola, 12 ipapo unonzhisa ku nzi uwe ku ng'umba iye ngono nkadzi atesele nsholo uwe, athubule womba dzidze. 13 Ngono ambule zwiambalo zwizwe zwe butapiwa agale mu ng'umba iye alilile tate babe na mmeyabe mwedzi wose uzhele. Shule kwa ipapo ungashangana naye kabe nlume uwe iye kabe nkadzi uwe. 14 Ipapo ha asingakushathise unletje ayende kwaanoda, koga usitongo ntengesa nge mari, usitongo mbhata se nlanda se iwe wanlengudza wali.
Fanilo dze mbano pakati kwe bakadzi babili
15 “Ha nlume ana bakadzi babili, mmwe wabo ediwa mmwe asingadiwe, ngono bose unodiwa ne usingadiwe bakanzwalila bana, ngono ha mbano ili ye nkadzi usingadiwe, 16 ngono mu zhuba laanotshwayila bakololo thundu iye kube lukata, asitongo tola nkololo we nkadzi unodiwa se mbano etjebela we nkadzi usingadiwe iye ali we mbano. 17 Koga atole mbano ili mbano, nkololo we nkadzi usingadiwe nge kumpa gobe kabili muna zose zwaanazo ngoti ndiye mbano iye, fanilo dze mbano dzakanlingisana.
18 “Ha nlume ana nkololo usingahwe ali mpanduki, asingahwilile hwi la tate babe kene hwi la mmeyabe, kene bentjemela asingabahwilile, 19 ipapo tate babe na mmeyabe bambhate ban'yise ku sholotjena dze nzi nkulu ku nkoba we kwaanogala. 20 Ngono badwe sholotjena dze nzi nkulu bati, ‘Nkololo wedu iwoyu aatohwa kakale mpanduki, aatohwa tjatinon'dwa, igovu kakale tjilaladzi.’ 21 Ipapo balume bose be nzi nkulu bankikithidze nge mabgwe afe, ndizo muduse mbipo pakati kwenyu, ngono Iziraela yose inowohwa ngono bakatja.
Mimwe milayo
22 “Ha nlume angathama jinyo lakalizana shamu ye lufu ngono ebe ebulawa, mube munlembeledza mu nti, 23 mbili uwe usilembeleke busiku gose mu nti, koga mu mbiganye mu zhuba ilelo ngoti nlume wafa ngolembeledziwa walongwa bhiso nge Ndzimu, musitongo temapadza shango yenyu yamapiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu kube thaka yenyu.
Unsolved Murder
Moses said to Israel:
1 Suppose the body of a murder victim is found in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, and no one knows who the murderer is. 2 The judges and other leaders from the towns around there must find out what town is the closest to where the body was found. 3 The leaders from that town will go to their cattle herds and choose a young cow that has never been put to work. 4-5 They and some of the priests will take this cow to a nearby valley where there is a stream, but no crops. Once they reach the valley, the leaders will break the cow's neck.
The priests must be there, because the Lord your God has chosen them to be his special servants at the place of worship. The Lord has chosen them to bless the people in his name and to be judges in all legal cases, whether property or injury is involved.
6 The town leaders will wash their hands over the body of the dead cow 7 and say, “We had no part in this murder, and we don't know who did it. 8-9 But since an innocent person was murdered, we beg you, our Lord, to accept this sacrifice and forgive Israel. We are your people, and you rescued us. Please don't hold this crime against us.”
If you obey the Lord and do these things, he will forgive Israel.
Marrying a Woman Taken Prisoner in War
Moses said to Israel:
10 From time to time, you men will serve as soldiers and go off to war. The Lord your God will help you defeat your enemies, and you will take many prisoners. 11-13 One of these prisoners may be a beautiful woman, and you may want to marry her. But first you must bring her into your home, and have her shave her head, cut her nails, get rid of her foreign clothes, and start wearing Israelite clothes. She will mourn a month for her father and mother, then you can marry her.
14 Later on, if you are not happy with the woman, you can divorce her, and she can go free. But you have slept with her as your wife, so you cannot sell her as a slave or make her into your own slave.
Rights of a First-Born Son
Moses said to Israel:
15-17 Suppose a man has two wives and loves one more than the other. The first son of either wife is the man's first-born son, even if the boy's mother is the wife the man doesn't love. Later, when the man is near death and is dividing up his property, he must give a double share to his first-born son, simply because he was the first to be born.
A Son Who Rebels
Moses said to Israel:
18 A father and a mother may have a stubborn and rebellious son who refuses to obey them even after he has been punished. 19 If a son is like that, his parents must drag him to the town gate, where the leaders of the town hold their meetings. 20 The parents will tell the leaders, “This son of ours is stubborn and never obeys. He spends all his time drinking and partying.”
21 The men of the town will stone that son to death, because they must get rid of the evil he brought into the community. Everyone in Israel will be afraid when they hear how he was punished.
The Body of a Criminal
Moses said to Israel:
22 If a criminal is put to death, and you hang the dead body on a tree, 23 you must not leave it there overnight. Bury it the same day, because the dead body of a criminal hanging on a tree will bring God's curse on the land. The Lord your God is giving this land to you, so don't make it unclean by leaving the bodies of executed criminals on display.