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 cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, 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.

Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

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.

Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the bounds of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee there.

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—

And this is the case of the slayer, who shall flee there, that he may live: Whoever killeth his neighbour unintentionally, whom he hated not in time past;

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,

As when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand maketh a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and falleth upon his neighbour, that he dieth; he shall flee to one of these cities, 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 the avenger of blood shall pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; though he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.

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

Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee.

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 thy God shall enlarge thy land, as he hath sworn to thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give to thy 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 thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three:

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 thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

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 shall hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he dieth, and he shall flee into one of these cities:

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;

Then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may 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.

Thy eye shall not pity him, but thou shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from 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 remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thy inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

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 a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

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

If a false witness shall rise up against any man to testify against him that which is 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 both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, who 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 the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and hath testified falsely 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 shall ye do to him, as he had thought to do to his brother: so shalt thou remove 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 those who remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any 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.”

And thy eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.