Deuteronomy 19

1 When the Lord thy God hath destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to thee, and thou shalt possess it, and shalt dwell in the cities and houses thereof:

When Yahweh thy God, shall cut off the nations whose land Yahweh thy God is giving thee, —and thou shalt dispossess them, and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

2 Thou shalt separate to thee three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give thee in possession,

three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee, —in the midst of thy land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess.

3 Paving diligently the way: and thou shalt divide the whole province of thy land equally into three parts: that he who is forced to flee for manslaughter, may have near at hand whither to escape.

Thou shalt prepare for thee a way, and shalt divide into three parts the boundary of thy land which Yahweh thy God shall cause thee to inherit, —and it shall be that every manslayer shall flee thither.

4 This shall be the law of the slayer that fleeth, whose life is to be saved: He that killeth his neighbour ignorantly, and who is proved to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before:

And, this, is the case of the manslayer, who shall flee thither and live, —Whoso shall smite his neighbour unwittingly, he, not having hated him aforetime;

5 But to have gone with him to the wood to hew wood, and in cutting down the tree the axe slipped out of his hand, and the iron slipping from the handle struck his friend, and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities aforesaid, and live:

as when one entereth with his neighbour into a forest, to fell trees, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe, to cut down the tree, and the head flieth off from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die, he, shall flee into one of these cities, and live;

6 Lest perhaps the next kinsman of him whose blood was shed, pushed on by his grief should pursue, and apprehend him. if the way be too long, and take away the life of him who is not guilty of death, because he is proved to have had no hatred before against him that was slain.

lest the blood redeemer pursue the manslayer because his heart is hot, and overtake him because the way is long, and he smite him so as to take away his life, —he not being worthy of death, seeing that he had not been hating him aforetime.

7 Therefore I command thee, that thou separate three cities at equal distance one from another.

For this cause, am I commanding thee saying, —Three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee.

8 And when the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he swore to thy fathers, and shall give thee all the land that he promised them,

But, if Yahweh thy God should enlarge thy bounds, as he sware unto thy fathers, —and should give thee all the land, which he spake of giving unto thy fathers;

9 (Yet so, if thou keep his commandments, and do the things which I command thee this day, that thou love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways at all times) thou shalt add to thee other three cities, and shalt double the number of the three cities aforesaid:

because thou dost observe all this commandment to do it which I am commanding thee to-day, to love Yahweh thy God and to walk in his paths all the days, then shalt thou add unto thee yet three cities, unto these three;

10 That innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord thy God will give thee to possess, lest thou be guilty of blood.

that innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of thy land, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee as an inheritance, —and so shed-blood be upon thee.

11 But if any man hating his neighbour, lie in wait for his life, and rise and strike him, and he die, and he flee to one of the cities aforesaid,

But, when any man shall be hating his neighbour, and shall lie in wait for him and rise up against him, and smite him so as to take away his life that he dieth, —and shall then flee into one of these cities,

12 The ancients of his city shall send, and take him out of the place of refuge, and shall deliver him into the hand of the kinsman of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.

then shall the elders of his city send and fetch him from thence, —and deliver him into the hand of the blood redeemer that he die;

13 Thou shalt not pity him, and thou shalt take away the guilt of innocent blood out of Israel, that it may be well with thee.

thine eye shall not look with pity upon him, —so shall thou consume the shedding of innocent blood out of Israel and it shall go well with thee.

14 Thou shalt not take nor remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which thy predecessors have set in thy possession. which the Lord thy God will give thee in the land that thou shalt receive to possess.

Thou shalt not move back the boundary of thy neighbour, by which they set bounds at first, —in thine inheritance which thou shall receive in the land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess.

15 One witness shall not rise up against any man, whatsoever the sin or wickedness be: but in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand.

One witness, shall not rise up, against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, with regard to any sin that he may commit, —at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses, must a matter be establish.

16 If a lying witness stand against a man, accusing him of transgression,

When there shall rise up a wrongful witness against a man, —to answer against him perversely,

17 Both of them, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges that shall be in those days.

then shall the two men who are at variance stand before Yahweh, —before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;

18 And when after most diligent inquisition, they shall find that the false witness hath told a lie against his brother:

and the judges shall make diligent inquisition, —and lo! if the witness be, a false witness and, falsely, have answered against his brother,

19 They shall render to him as he meant to do to his brother, and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee:

then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to de unto his brother, —so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst;

20 That others hearing may fear, and may not dare to do such things.

and, they who remain shall hear and fear, —and not go on to do again according to this wicked thing, in thy midst:

21 Thou shalt not pity him, but shalt require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

neither shall thine eye pity, —life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.