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.
Concerning Unsolved Murders
1 “Suppose someone is found murdered in a field in the land that the Lord your God is going to give you, and you do not know who killed him. 2 Your leaders and judges are to go out and measure the distance from the place where the body was found to each of the nearby towns. 3 Then the leaders of the town nearest to where the body was found are to select a young cow that has never been used for work. 4 They are to take it down to a spot near a stream that never runs dry and where the ground has never been plowed or planted, and there they are to break its neck. 5 The levitical priests are to go there also, because they are to decide every legal case involving violence. The Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name. 6 Then all the leaders from the town nearest the place where the murdered person was found are to wash their hands over the cow 7 and say, ‘We did not murder this one, and we do not know who did it. 8 Lord, forgive your people Israel, whom you rescued from Egypt. Forgive us and do not hold us responsible for the murder of an innocent person.’ 9 And so, by doing what the Lord requires, you will not be held responsible for the murder.
Concerning Women Prisoners of War
10 “When the Lord your God gives you victory in battle and you take prisoners, 11 you may see among them a beautiful woman that you like and want to marry. 12 Take her to your home, where she will shave her head, cut her fingernails, 13 and change her clothes. She is to stay in your home and mourn for her parents for a month; after that, you may marry her. 14 Later, if you no longer want her, you are to let her go free. Since you forced her to have intercourse with you, you cannot treat her as a slave and sell her.
Concerning the First Son's Inheritance
15 “Suppose a man has two wives and they both bear him sons, but the first son is not the child of his favorite wife. 16 When the man decides how he is going to divide his property among his children, he is not to show partiality to the son of his favorite wife by giving him the share that belongs to the first-born son. 17 He is to give a double share of his possessions to his first son, even though he is not the son of his favorite wife. A man must acknowledge his first son and give him the share he is legally entitled to.
Concerning a Disobedient Son
18 “Suppose someone has a son who is stubborn and rebellious, a son who will not obey his parents, even though they punish him. 19 His parents are to take him before the leaders of the town where he lives and make him stand trial. 20 They are to say to them, ‘Our son is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey us; he wastes money and is a drunkard.’ 21 Then the men of the city are to stone him to death, and so you will get rid of this evil. Everyone in Israel will hear what has happened and be afraid.
Various Laws
22 “If someone has been put to death for a crime and the body is hung on a post, 23 it is not to remain there overnight. It must be buried the same day, because a dead body hanging on a post brings God's curse on the land. Bury the body, so that you will not defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you.