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,
After the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he's giving you, and after you have driven them out and settled in their cities and 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.
then you are to choose three sanctuary towns in the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own.
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 build roads to these towns. Divide the country the Lord is giving you into three sections. This way anyone who kills someone else can easily run to these towns for protection.
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 what is to happen when a person accidentally kills someone else without meaning to, and runs to one of these sanctuary towns to save their life.
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 to cut wood in the forest with his friend and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the head flies off the handle and hits and kills his friend, he may run to one of these towns to save his life.
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;
Otherwise the avenger in his anger might chase after the man and catch up with him and kill him, if it's a long distance. The man would be killed even though he didn't deserve to die, because he hadn't meant to cause any harm.
7 therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Three cities thou dost separate to thee.
This is the reason why I'm giving this order to choose three sanctuary towns.
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 —
Should the Lord your God expand your territory, as he promised your forefathers, and give you all the land he said he would,
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;
and if you are careful to keep all these commandments I'm giving you today, loving the Lord your God and always following his ways, then you are to choose three additional three sanctuary towns.
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.
In this way the blood of innocent people won't not be shed in the country the Lord your God is giving you to own and you won't be responsible for the death of innocent people who aren't guilty of losing their lives.
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,
On the other hand, if a man hates someone, hides in wait, and attacks and kills them, and then the killer runs to one of the sanctuary 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 elders of his home town must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger to be killed.
13 thine eye hath no pity on him, and thou hast put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with thee.
Show him no mercy. You are to eliminate from Israel the guilt of shedding the blood of the innocent, and then all will be well.
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.
Don't move your neighbor's boundary marker. It was placed there by your ancestors to mark the land allotment you will receive in the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own.
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.
The evidence given by a single witness is not enough to prove a sin or a crime against someone, never mind what offense they are alleged to have committed. The facts must be confirmed by the evidence given by two or three witnesses.
16 'When a violent witness doth rise against a man, to testify against him apostasy,
If someone falsely accuses another person of a crime,
17 then have both the men who have the strife stood before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges who are in those days,
both those involved must come to be judged in the presence of the Lord by the priests and judges who are then in office.
18 and the judges have searched diligently, and lo, the witness [is] a false witness, a falsehood he hath testified against his brother:
The judges shall conduct a full investigation, and if the accuser proves to be a liar who has made false accusations
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 you must punish the accuser in the same way they wanted to punish their victim. You must eliminate this 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;
Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you. Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid, and won't ever do anything so evil.
21 and thine eye doth not pity — life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Don't show any mercy. The rule is life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
