Deuteronomy 19

1 Whanne thi Lord God hath distried the folkis, whose lond he schal yyue to thee, and thou hast weldid it, and hast dwellid in the citees and housis therof;

“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 schalt departe thre citees to thee `in the myddis of the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee into possessioun.

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 schalt make redi diligentli the weye, and thou schalt departe euenly in to thre partis al the prouynce of thi lond, that he that is exilid for mansleyng, haue `of nyy whidur he may ascape.

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 schal be the lawe of a mansleere fleynge, whos lijf schal be kept. If a man smytith vnwityngli his neiybore, and which is preuyd to haue not had ony hatered ayens hym yistirdai and the thridde dai agoon,

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 but to haue go sympli with hym in to the wode to hewe doun trees, and in the fellyng doun of trees the axe fleeth fro the hond, and the yrun slidith fro the helue, and smytith, and sleeth his freend; this man schal flee to oon of the forseid citees, and schal lyue;

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 lest perauenture the next kynesman of hym, whos blood is sched out, be prickid with sorewe, and `pursue, and take hym, if the weie is lengere, and smyte `the lijf of hym which is not gilti of deeth; for it is schewid that he hadde not ony hatered bifore ayens hym that is slayn.

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 Therfor Y comaunde to thee, that thou departe thre citees of euene space bitwixe hem silf.

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

8 Forsothe whanne thi Lord God hath alargid thi termes, as he swoor to thi fadris, and hath youe to thee al the lond which he bihiyte to hem; if netheles thou kepist hise comaundementis,

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 and doist tho thingis whiche Y comaunde to thee to day, that thou loue thi Lord God, and go in hise weies in al tyme, thou schalt adde to thee thre othere citees, and thou schalt double the noumbre of the forseid citees,

(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 gilteles blood be not sched out in the myddis of the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee to haue in possessioun, lest thou be gilti of blood.

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 Forsothe if ony man hatith his neiybore, and settith aspies, `ether tresouns, to his lijf, and risith, and smytith him, and he is deed, and he fleeth to oon of the forseid citees,

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 the eldere men of that citee schulen sende, and `thei schulen take hym fro the place of refuyt; and thei schulen bitake hym in to the hond of the nexte kynesman of hym, whos blood is sched out,

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 and he schal die, and thou schalt not haue mercy on hym; and thou schalt do awey gilti blood fro Israel, that it be wel to 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 schalt not take, and turne ouer the termes of thi neiybore, which the formere men settiden in thi possessioun, which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee in the lond, `which lond thou schalt take `to be weldid.

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 O witnesse schal not stonde ayens ony man, what euer thing it is of synne and of wickidnesse; but ech word schal stonde in the mouth of tweyne ethir of thre witnessis.

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 fals witnesse stondith ayens a man, and accusith hym of brekyng of the lawe, bothe,

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

17 of whiche the cause is, schulen stonde bifor the Lord, in the siyt of preestis, and of iugis, that ben in tho 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 whanne thei sekynge moost diligentli han founde that the fals witnesse seide a leesyng ayens his brothir,

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

19 thei schulen yelde to hym, as he thouyte to do to his brother; and thou schalt do awey yuel fro the myddis of thee, that othere men here,

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 haue drede, and be no more hardi to do siche thingis.

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

21 Thou schalt not haue mercy on hym, but thou schalt axe lijf for lijf, iye for iye, tooth for tooth, hond for hond, foot for foot.

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.”