< Deuteronomy 19 >
1 'When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations, whose land Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, and thou hast succeeded 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 three cities thou dost separate for thee in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee 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 Thou dost prepare for thee the way, and hast divided into three parts the border of thy land which Jehovah thy God doth cause thee to inherit, and it hath been for the fleeing thither of every man-slayer.
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 man-slayer who fleeth thither, and hath lived: He who smiteth his neighbour unknowingly, and is not hating him heretofore,
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 cometh in with his neighbour into a forest to hew wood, and his hand hath driven with an axe to cut the tree, and the iron hath slipped from the wood, and hath met his neighbour, and he hath died — he doth flee unto one of these cities, and hath 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 man-slayer when his heart is hot, and hath overtaken him (because the way is great), and hath smitten him — the life, and he hath no sentence of death, for he is not hating him heretofore;
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 thee, saying, Three cities thou dost separate to thee.
And so I am ordering you to see that three towns are marked out for this purpose.
8 'And if Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath sworn to thy fathers, and hath given to thee all the land which He hath spoken to give to thy 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 thou keepest all this command to do it, which I am commanding thee to-day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk in His ways all the days — then thou hast added to thee yet three cities 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 innocent blood is not shed in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee — an inheritance, and there hath been upon thee blood.
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 neighbour, and hath lain in wait for him, and risen against him, and smitten him — the life, and he hath died, and he hath fled unto 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 then the elders of his city have sent and taken him from thence, and given him into the hand of the redeemer of blood, and he hath 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 thine eye hath no pity on him, and thou hast put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with thee.
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 'Thou dost not remove a border of thy neighbour, which they of former times have made, in thine inheritance, which thou dost inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee 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 doth not rise against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin which he sinneth; 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 doth rise 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 have both the men who have the strife stood before Jehovah, 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 lo, the witness [is] a false witness, a falsehood he hath testified 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 ye have done to him as he devised to do to his brother, and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy 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 do hear and fear, and add not to do any more according to this evil thing in thy midst;
And the rest of the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear, and never again do such evil among you.
21 and thine eye doth 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.