19
1 When
the LORD your
God cuts off
the nations
whose land the
LORD your God
gives you, and
you succeed them
and dwell in
their cities and
in their houses,
2 you
shall set apart
three cities for
yourselves in the
middle of
your land, which
the LORD your
God gives you
to possess.
3 You
shall prepare the
way, and divide
the borders of
your land which
the LORD your
God causes you to
inherit into three
parts, that every
man slayer may
flee there.
4 This
is the case
of the man
slayer who shall
flee there and
live: Whoever kills
his neighbor
unintentionally, and didn’t
hate him in
time past—
5 as
when a man goes
into the forest
with his neighbor
to chop wood and
his hand swings
the ax to cut
down the tree,
and the head
slips from the
handle and hits
his neighbor so
that he dies—he
shall flee to
one of these
cities and live.
6 Otherwise,
the avenger of
blood might pursue
the man slayer
while hot anger
is in his
heart and overtake
him, because the
way is long,
and strike him
mortally, even
though he was
not worthy of
death, because
he didn’t hate him
in time past.
7 Therefore
I command you
to set apart three
cities for
yourselves.
8 If the
LORD your God
enlarges your
border, as he
has sworn to
your fathers, and
gives you all
the land which
he promised to
give to
your fathers;
9 and
if you keep
all this
commandment to do
it, which I
command you today,
to love the LORD
your God, and
to walk ever
in his ways,
then you shall
add three cities
more for
yourselves, in
addition to these
three.
10 This
is so that
innocent blood
will not be
shed in the
middle of your
land which the
LORD your God
gives you for
an inheritance, leaving
blood guilt on
you.
11 But
if any man
hates his neighbor,
lies in wait for
him, rises up
against him,
strikes him
mortally so that
he dies, and
he flees into
one of these
cities;
12 then
the elders of
his city shall
send and bring
him there, and
deliver him into
the hand of
the avenger of
blood, that he
may die.
13 Your
eye shall not
pity him, but
you shall purge
the innocent blood
from Israel that
it may go
well with you.
14 You
shall not remove
your neighbor’s
landmark, which
they of old
time have set,
in your
inheritance which
you shall inherit,
in the land
that the LORD
your God gives
you to possess.
15 One
witness shall not
rise up against
a man for
any iniquity, or
for any sin
that he sins.
At the mouth
of two witnesses,
or at the
mouth of three
witnesses, shall a
matter be
established.
16 If
an unrighteous
witness rises up
against any man
to testify against
him of wrongdoing,
17 then
both the men,
between whom the
controversy is,
shall stand before
the LORD, before
the priests and
the judges who
shall be in
those days;
18 and
the judges shall
make diligent
inquisition; and
behold, if the
witness is a
false witness, and
has testified
falsely against his brother,
19 then
you shall do
to him as
he had thought
to do to
his brother. So
you shall remove
the evil from
among you.
20 Those
who remain shall
hear, and fear,
and will never
again commit any
such evil among
you.
21 Your
eyes shall not
pity: life for
life, eye for
eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for
hand, foot for
foot.