Deuteronomy 19

1 “When your God YHWH cuts off the nations whose land your God YHWH is giving to you, and you have dispossessed them, and dwelt in their cities and in their houses,

When the nations, whose land the Lord your God is giving you, have been cut off by him, and you have taken their place and are living in their towns and in their houses;

2 you separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which your God YHWH is giving to you to possess it.

You are to have three towns marked out in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage.

3 You prepare the way for yourself, and have divided into three parts the border of your land which your God YHWH causes you to inherit, and it has been for the fleeing there of every manslayer.

You are to make ready a way, and see that the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, is marked out into three parts, to which any taker of life may go in flight.

4 And this [is] the matter of the manslayer who flees there, and has lived: he who strikes his neighbor unknowingly, and is not hating him before—

This is to be the rule for anyone who goes in flight there, after causing the death of his neighbour in error and not through hate;

5 even he who comes into a forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand has driven with an axe to cut the tree, and the iron has slipped from the wood, and has met his neighbor, and he has died—he flees to one of these cities, and has lived,

For example, if a man goes into the woods with his neighbour for the purpose of cutting down trees, and when he takes his axe to give a blow to the tree, the head of the axe comes off, and falling on to his neighbour gives him a wound causing his death; then the man may go in flight to one of these towns and be safe:

6 lest the redeemer of blood pursue after the manslayer when his heart is hot and has overtaken him, because the way is great, and has struck his life, and he has no sentence of death, for he is not hating him before;

For if not, he who has the right of punishment may go running after the taker of life in the heat of his wrath, and overtake him because the way is long, and give him a death-blow; though it is not right for him to be put to death because he was not moved by hate.

7 therefore I am commanding you, saying, You separate three cities for yourself.

And so I am ordering you to see that three towns are marked out for this purpose.

8 And if your God YHWH enlarges your border, as He has sworn to your fathers, and has given to you all the land which He has spoken to give to your fathers—

And if the Lord your God makes wide the limits of your land, as he said in his oath to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he undertook to give to your fathers;

9 when you keep all this command to do it, which I am commanding you today, to love your God YHWH and to walk in His ways [for] all the days—then you have added three more cities for yourself to these three;

If you keep and do all these orders which I give you today, loving the Lord your God and walking ever in his ways; then let three more towns, in addition to these three, be marked out for you:

10 and [do this] lest innocent blood is shed in the midst of your land which your God YHWH is giving to you [for] an inheritance, and there has been blood on you.

So that in all your land, which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, no man may be wrongly put to death, for which you will be responsible.

11 And when a man is hating his neighbor, and has lain in wait for him, and risen against him, and struck his life, and he has died, then he has fled to one of these cities,

But if any man has hate for his neighbour, and waiting for him secretly makes an attack on him and gives him a blow causing his death, and then goes in flight to one of these towns;

12 and [the] elderly of his city have sent and taken him from there, and given him into the hand of the redeemer of blood, and he has died;

The responsible men of his town are to send and take him, and give him up to the one who has the right of punishment to be put to death.

13 your eye has no pity on him, and you have put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with you.

Have no pity on him, so that Israel may be clear from the crime of putting a man to death without cause, and it will be well for you.

14 You do not remove a border of your neighbor, which they of former times have made, in your inheritance, which you inherit in the land which your God YHWH is giving to you to possess it.

Your neighbour's landmark, which was put in its place by the men of old times, is not to be moved or taken away in the land of your heritage which the Lord your God is giving you.

15 One witness does not rise against a man for any iniquity and for any sin, in any sin which he sins; by the mouth of two witnesses or by the mouth of three witnesses is a thing established.

One witness may not make a statement against a man in relation to any sin or wrongdoing which he has done: on the word of two or three witnesses a question is to be judged.

16 When a violent witness rises against a man to testify against him apostasy,

If a false witness makes a statement against a man, saying that he has done wrong,

17 then both of the men who have the strife have stood before YHWH, before the priests and the judges who are in those days,

Then the two men, between whom the argument has taken place, are to come before the Lord, before the priests and judges who are then in power;

18 and the judges have searched diligently, and behold, the witness [is] a false witness who has testified a falsehood against his brother,

And the judges will have the question looked into with care: and if the witness is seen to be false and to have made a false statement against his brother,

19 then you have done to him as he devised to do to his brother, and you have put away evil out of your midst,

Then do to him what it was his purpose to do to his brother: and so put away the evil from among you.

20 and those who are left hear and fear, and do not add to do according to this evil thing in your midst anymore.

And the rest of the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear, and never again do such evil among you.

21 And your eye does not pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Have no pity; let life be given for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.