Deuteronomy 19

1 “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,

When Yahweh your God cuts off the nations, those whose land Yahweh your God is giving you, and when you come after them and live in their cities and houses,

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

you must select three cities for yourself in the middle of your land that Yahweh your God is giving you to possess.

3 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.

You must build a road and divide the borders of your land into three parts, the land that Yahweh your God is causing you to inherit, so that everyone who kills another person may flee there.

4 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,

This is the law for the one who kills another and who flees there to live—anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, and did not previously hate him.

5 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.

For example, if a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his chops with the ax to cut down a tree, and the ax head slips off of the handle and strikes his neighbor and kills him—then that man must flee to one of these cities and save his life.

6 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.

Otherwise the avenger of blood might go after the one who took a life, and in the heat of his anger overtake him, if the distance is too great, strike him and kill him, even though that man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past.

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

Therefore I command you to select three cities for yourself.

8 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,

If Yahweh your God enlarges your borders, as he has sworn to your ancestors to do, and gives you all the land that he promised to give to your ancestors;

9 (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.

if you keep all these commandments to do them, which I am commanding you today—commandments to love Yahweh your God and to always walk in his ways, then you must add three more cities for yourself, besides these three.

10 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.

Do this so that innocent blood is not shed in the midst of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you for as an inheritance, so that no bloodguilt may be on you.

11 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,

But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and mortally wounds him so that he dies, and if he then flees into one of these cities—

12 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.

then the elders of his city must send and bring him back from there, and turn him over into the hand of the responsible relative, so that he may die.

13 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.

Your eye must not pity him; instead, you must eradicate the bloodguilt from Israel, that it may go well with you.

14 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.

You must not remove your neighbor's landmark that they set in place a long time ago, in your inheritance that you will inherit, in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you to possess.

15 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.

One sole witness must not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any matter that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, must any matter be confirmed.

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

Suppose that an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing.

17 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.

Then both men, the ones between whom the controversy exists, must stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.

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

The judges must make diligent inquiries; see, if the witness is a false witness and has testified falsely against his brother,

19 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.

then must you do to him, as he had wished to do to his brother; and you will remove the evil from among you.

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

Then those who remain will hear and fear, and will from then on commit no longer any such evil among you.

21 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.”

Your eyes must not pity; life will pay for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.