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 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:

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

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

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.

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.

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 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:

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,

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:

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;

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.

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

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

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 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,

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;

(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:

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.

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.

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 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,

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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

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,

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.

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

And when after most diligent inquisition, they shall find that the false witness hath told a lie 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,

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:

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

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

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

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