Deuteronomy 19

Modern

Literal

Cities of Refuge

¹When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses,

¹When YHWH your God has cut off the nations whose land YHWH your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

²then you are to set apart for yourselves three cities within the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

²you shall separate for yourself three cities in the midst of your land that YHWH your God is giving you to possess.

³You are to build roads for yourselves^a and divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities.

³You shall prepare for yourself the way and divide into three parts the territory of your land that YHWH your God is giving you to inherit, and it will be that any manslayer may flee there.

⁴Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

⁴And this is the matter of the manslayer who flees there that he may live: Whoever strikes his neighbor without knowing, and he without having hated him from yesterday and the day before yesterday,

⁵If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes and kills his neighbor, he may flee to one of these cities to save his life.

⁵and he who goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut timber, and his hand swings with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies, he shall flee to one of these cities and live,

⁶Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.

⁶lest the avenger of blood pursue after the manslayer while his anger is hot, and overtake him because the way is long, and kill him, and he did not have a sentence of death, since he had not hated him from yesterday and the day before yesterday.

⁷This is why I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

⁷Upon thus I command you, in saying, three cities you shall separate for yourself.

⁸And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised them,

⁸And if YHWH your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and He gives you all the land that He promised to give to your fathers,

⁹and if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you today, loving the LORD your God and walking in His ways at all times, then you are to add three more cities to these three.

⁹and if you keep all this commandment and do it, that which I command you today, to love YHWH your God, and to walk in His ways all the days, then you shall add to yourself three more cities besides these three.

¹⁰Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.

¹⁰And innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land, which YHWH your God is giving you as an inheritance, and blood be upon you.

¹¹If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,

¹¹But if anyone comes to hate his neighbor, and he lies in wait for him and rises against him and strikes him mortally so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities,

¹²the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.

¹²the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

¹³You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.

¹³Your eye shall not pity him, and you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

¹⁴You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

¹⁴You shall not move a border of your neighbor, which the men of old have set in your inheritance that you will inherit in the land that YHWH your God is giving you to possess.

The Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses

¹⁵A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^a

¹⁵One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity, or any sin, in any sin that he commits. Upon the mouth of two witnesses or upon the mouth of three witnesses, a matter shall be established.

¹⁶If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,

¹⁶If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,

¹⁷both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.

¹⁷both the men between whom is the controversy shall stand before the face of YHWH, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.

¹⁸The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

¹⁸And the judges shall make inquiry thoroughly, and behold, if the witness is a false witness—he has testified a falsehood against his brother—

¹⁹you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.^a

¹⁹then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother, and you shall put away the evil from among you.

²⁰Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you.

²⁰And those who remain shall hear and fear, and they shall add not to do this evil thing anymore among you.

²¹You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,^a hand for hand, and foot for foot.

²¹And your eye shall not pity: Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.