Deuteronomy 19

1 After the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he's giving you, and after you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses,

And when the Lord your God shall have destroyed the nations, which God gives you, [even] the land, and you shall inherit them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,

2 then you are to choose three sanctuary towns in the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own.

you shall separate for yourself three cities in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you.

3 You are build roads to these towns. Divide the country the Lord is giving you into three sections. This way anyone who kills someone else can easily run to these towns for protection.

Take a survey of your way, and you shall divide the coasts of your land, which the Lord your God apportions to you, into three parts, and there shall be there a refuge for every manslayer.

4 This is what is to happen when a person accidentally kills someone else without meaning to, and runs to one of these sanctuary towns to save their life.

And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee there, and shall live, whoever shall have struck his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.

5 For example, if a man goes to cut wood in the forest with his friend and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the head flies off the handle and hits and kills his friend, he may run to one of these towns to save his life.

And whoever shall enter with his neighbour into the thicket, to gather wood, if the hand of him that cuts wood with the axe should be violently shaken, and the axe head falling off from the handle should light on his neighbour, and he should die, he shall flee to one of these cities, and live.

6 Otherwise the avenger in his anger might chase after the man and catch up with him and kill him, if it's a long distance. The man would be killed even though he didn't deserve to die, because he hadn't meant to cause any harm.

Lest the avenger of blood pursue after the slayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, if the way be too long, and kill him, though there is to this man no sentence of death, because he hated him not in time past.

7 This is the reason why I'm giving this order to choose three sanctuary towns.

Therefore I charge you, saying, You shall separate for your self three cities.

8 Should the Lord your God expand your territory, as he promised your forefathers, and give you all the land he said he would,

And if the Lord shall enlarge your borders, as he sware to your fathers, and the Lord shall give to you all the land which he said he would give to your fathers;

9 and if you are careful to keep all these commandments I'm giving you today, loving the Lord your God and always following his ways, then you are to choose three additional three sanctuary towns.

if you shall listen to do all these commands, which I charge you this day, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways continually; you shall add for yourself yet three cities to these three.

10 In this way the blood of innocent people won't not be shed in the country the Lord your God is giving you to own and you won't be responsible for the death of innocent people who aren't guilty of losing their lives.

So innocent blood shall not be spilt in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, and there shall not be in you one guilty of blood.

11 On the other hand, if a man hates someone, hides in wait, and attacks and kills them, and then the killer runs to one of the sanctuary towns,

But if there should be in you a man hating his neighbour, and he should lay wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him, that he die, and he should flee to one of these cities,

12 the elders of his home town must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger to be killed.

then shall the elders of his city send, and take him thence, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the avengers of blood, and he shall die.

13 Show him no mercy. You are to eliminate from Israel the guilt of shedding the blood of the innocent, and then all will be well.

Your eye shall not spare him; so shall you purge innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with you.

14 Don't move your neighbor's boundary marker. It was placed there by your ancestors to mark the land allotment you will receive in the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own.

You shall not move the landmarks of your neighbour, which your fathers set in the inheritance, in which you have obtained a share in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit.

15 The evidence given by a single witness is not enough to prove a sin or a crime against someone, never mind what offense they are alleged to have committed. The facts must be confirmed by the evidence given by two or three witnesses.

One witness shall not stand to testify against a man for any iniquity, or for any fault, or for any sin which he may commit; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, shall every word be established.

16 If someone falsely accuses another person of a crime,

And if an unjust witness rise up against a man, alleging iniquity against him;

17 both those involved must come to be judged in the presence of the Lord by the priests and judges who are then in office.

then shall the two men between whom the controversy is, stand before the Lord, and before the priests, and before the judges, who may be in those days.

18 The judges shall conduct a full investigation, and if the accuser proves to be a liar who has made false accusations

And the judges shall make diligent enquiry, and, behold, [if] and unjust witness has borne unjust testimony; [and] has stood up against his brother;

19 then you must punish the accuser in the same way they wanted to punish their victim. You must eliminate this evil from among you.

then shall you do to him as he wickedly devised to do against his brother, and you shall remove the evil from yourselves.

20 Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you. Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid, and won't ever do anything so evil.

And the rest shall hear and fear, and do no more according to this evil thing in the midst of you.

21 Don't show any mercy. The rule is life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

Your eye shall not spare him: [you shall exact] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.