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 Yahweh our God has gotten rid of the people-groups from the land that he is giving to you, and after you have expelled them from their cities and you start to live 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 must divide into three parts the land that he is giving to you. Then choose a city in each part. You must make good roads [in order that people can get to those cities easily]. Someone who kills another person can escape to one of those cities [to be safe/protected].

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.

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 the rule about someone who has killed another person. If someone (accidentally/without planning to) kills another person who was not his enemy, he may escape to one of those cities and be safe/protected there.

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 two men go into the forest to cut some wood, if the axe head comes off the handle while one of them is chopping down a tree and the axe head strikes and kills the other man, the man [who was using the axe] will be allowed to run to one of those cities and be safe there, [because the people of that city will protect him].

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;

Because he accidentally killed someone, and because the man was not his enemy, he can try to run to one of those cities. If there were only one city, it may be a long distance to that city. Then if the relative of the man who was killed [MTY], the man who is supposed/expected to get revenge, is very angry, he may be able to catch the other person before he arrives at that city.

7 therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Three cities thou dost separate to thee.

[To prevent that from happening], you must choose three cities, not only one, [in order that someone can get to one of those cities quickly].

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 —

“If you do everything that I am today commanding you to do, and if you love Yahweh our God, and if you conduct your lives as he wants you to do, Yahweh our God will give you much more land than you will have when you first occupy it, which is what he promised to do. He will give you all the land which he promised your ancestors that he would give to you. When he gives you that land, you must select three more cities [to which people may escape].

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;

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.

Do this in order that people who (are innocent/have killed someone else without planning to) will not die, and you will not be guilty for [allowing] them to be executed, in the land that Yahweh is giving to you.

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 suppose someone hates his enemy and hides and waits for that person [to come along the road]. Then [when he passes by, suddenly] he attacks him and murders him. If the attacker flees to one of those cities [to be protected there],

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 the city [where the murdered man lived must not protect the attacker. They]. must send someone to the city to which the other man escaped, and bring him to [MTY] the relative who is supposed/expected to get revenge, so that he may execute that man.

13 thine eye hath no pity on him, and thou hast put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with thee.

You must not pity those who murder other people! Instead, you must execute them, in order that the people in the land of Israel will not murder [MTY] innocent people, and in order that things will go 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.

“[When you are living] in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, do not move the markers of your neighbors’ property boundaries which were placed there long ago.”

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.

“If someone is accused of committing a crime, one (witness/person who says, ‘I saw him do it’) is not enough. There must be at least two (witnesses/people who say, ‘We saw him do it’). [If there is only one witness], the judge must not believe that what he says is true.

16 'When a violent witness doth rise against a man, to testify against him apostasy,

“If someone tries to do wrong to another person by falsely accusing him,

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 of them must go to the place where the people worship, to [talk to] the priests and judges who are serving at that time.

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 must (investigate the case carefully/try to find out which one is telling the truth). If [the judges determine that] one of them has accused the other falsely,

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,

that person must be punished in the same way that the other one would have been punished [if the judge decided that he (was guilty/had done what is wrong)]. By punishing such people, you will get rid of this evil practice 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/Because when that person is punished, everyone will hear what has happened, and they will be afraid, and no one will dare to act that way any more.

21 and thine eye doth not pity — life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

You must not pity people who are punished like that. The rule should be that a person who has murdered someone else must be executed; one of a person’s eyes must be gouged out if he has gouged out someone else’s eye, one tooth of a person who has knocked out the tooth of another person must be knocked out; one hand of a person who has cut off the hand of another person must likewise be cut off; one foot of a person who has cut off the foot of another person must also be cut off.”