Deuteronomy 4:42

Translations

Modern

…to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

Traditional

That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

Literal

…for to flee there the manslayer who kills his neighbor without knowing, and he without having hated him from yesterday and the day before yesterday, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

Latin

…ut confugiat ad eas qui occiderit nolens proximum suum, nec sibi fuerit inimicus ante unum et alterum diem, et ad harum aliquam urbium possit evadere:

Original

Hebrew

English

…to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

Notes

Deuteronomy 4:41–43

When Israel settled in Canaan and began living in cities, serious crimes such as homicide required legal decisions. Disputes could not be settled by private revenge. They needed judges to decide each case.

The law provided cities of refuge to protect people accused of killing someone. These cities gave safety from immediate revenge and allowed time for a fair trial. The first cities were set apart east of the Jordan River. Later, others were set apart in Canaan (see Numbers 35:9–28).

The laws about these cities appear again in Deuteronomy 19:1–13. They are mentioned here because Moses had just promised long and secure life in the land (4:40). Protecting the innocent from false accusations helped make that promise possible.

Deuteronomy 4:41–49

Moses was ready to present the covenant with full authority. He spoke as the Lord’s chosen leader and teacher.

This section connects two parts of Deuteronomy. First, Moses reviewed Israel’s past journey (1:6–4:40). Next, he began to explain the covenant itself in detail (5:1–26:19).

Theme notes and profiles

Ancient Law Codes

Related verses

Deuteronomy 19:1–10
When 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,
Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
Numbers 35:11–12
…designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.
Numbers 35:15–28
These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
Numbers 35:6
Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.

Deuteronomy 4:42

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