Deuteronomy 19

1 When the Lord thy God shall roote out the nations, whose lande the Lord thy God giueth thee, and thou shalt possesse them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,

“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,

2 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the middes of thy lande which the Lord thy God giueth thee to possesse it.

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

3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and deuide the coastes of the land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee to inherite, into three parts, that euery manslayer may flee thither.

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.

4 This also is ye cause wherfore the manslayer shall flee thither, and liue: who so killeth his neighbor ignorantly, and hated him not in time passed:

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,

5 As hee that goeth vnto the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand striketh with the axe to cut downe the tree, if the head slip from the helue, and hit his neighbour that he dieth, the same shall flee vnto one of the cities, and liue,

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.

6 Least the auenger of the blood follow after the manslayer, while his heart is chafed, and ouertake him, because the way is long, and slaie him, although he be not worthy of death, because he hated him not in time passed.

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.

7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt appoint out three cities for thee.

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

8 And when the Lord thy God enlargeth thy coastes (as he hath sworne vnto thy fathers) and giueth thee all the lande which he promised to giue vnto thy fathers,

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,

9 (If thou keepe all these commandements to doe them, which I commaund thee this day: to wit, that thou loue the Lord thy God, and walke in his waies for euer) then shalt thou adde three cities moe for thee besides those three,

(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.

10 That innocent bloude be not shed within thy land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee to inherite, lest bloud be vpon thee.

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.

11 But if a man hate his neighbour, and lay waite for him, and rise against him, and smite any man that he die, and flee vnto any of these cities,

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,

12 Then the Elders of his citie shall send and set him thence, and deliuer him into the hands of the auenger of the blood, that he may die.

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.

13 Thine eye shall not spare him, but thou shalt put away the crie of innocent blood from Israel, that it may goe well with thee.

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.

14 Thou shalt not remooue thy neighbours marke, which they of olde time haue set in thine inheritance, that thou shalt inherite in the lande, which ye Lord thy God giueth thee to possesse it.

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.

15 One witnes shall not rise against a man for any trespasse, or for any sinne, or for any fault that hee offendeth in, but at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be stablished.

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.

16 If a false witnesse rise vp against a man to accuse him of trespasse,

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

17 Then both the men which striue together, shall stand before ye Lord, euen before the Priests and the Iudges, which shall be in those daies,

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.

18 And the Iudges shall make diligent inquisition: and if the witnesse be found false, and hath giuen false witnes against his brother,

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

19 Then shall yee doe vnto him as hee had thought to doe vnto his brother: so thou shalt take euil away forth of the middes of thee.

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.

20 And the rest shall heare this, and feare, and shall henceforth commit no more any such wickednes among you.

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

21 Therefore thine eye shall have no compassion, but life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foote for foote.

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.”