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Deuteronomy 19
New King James Version
Deuteronomy 19
New King James Version
Three Cities of Refuge(A)
19 “When the Lord your God (B)has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, 2 (C)you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.
4 “And (D)this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor [a]unintentionally, not having hated him in time past— 5 as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke 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; 6 (E)lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’
8 “Now if the Lord your God (F)enlarges your territory, as He swore to (G)your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, 9 and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, (H)then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, 10 (I)lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
11 “But (J)if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 (K)Your eye shall not pity him, (L)but you shall [b]put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Property Boundaries
14 (M)“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
The Law Concerning Witnesses
15 (N)“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 16 If a false witness (O)rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, (P)before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18 And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, 19 (Q)then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so (R)you shall put away the evil from among you. 20 (S)And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21 (T)Your eye shall not pity: (U)life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:4 ignorantly, lit. without knowledge
- Deuteronomy 19:13 purge the blood of the innocent
Deuteronomy 19
New International Version
Deuteronomy 19
New International Version
Cities of Refuge(A)
19 When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,(B) 2 then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.
4 This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood(C) might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. 7 This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.
8 If the Lord your God enlarges your territory,(D) as he promised(E) on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, 9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him(F)—then you are to set aside three more cities. 10 Do this so that innocent blood(G) will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.(H)
11 But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor,(I) and then flees to one of these cities, 12 the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show no pity.(J) You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood,(K) so that it may go well with you.
14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.(L)
Witnesses
15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.(M)
16 If a malicious witness(N) takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges(O) who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation,(P) and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.(Q) You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid,(R) and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity:(S) life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.(T)
Deuteronomy 19
English Standard Version
Deuteronomy 19
English Standard Version
Laws Concerning Cities of Refuge
19 “When (A)the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, 2 (B)you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 You shall measure the distances[a] and divide into three parts the area of the land that the Lord your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them.
4 “This is the provision for (C)the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past— 5 as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live, 6 lest (D)the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him fatally, though the man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past. 7 Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities. 8 (E)And if the Lord your God enlarges your territory, (F)as he has sworn to your fathers, and (G)gives you all the land that he promised to give to your fathers— 9 provided you are careful to keep all this commandment, which I command you today, by loving the Lord your God and by walking ever in his ways—(H)then you shall add three other cities to these three, 10 lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
11 “But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him (I)and strikes him fatally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 (J)Your eye shall not pity him, (K)but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood[b] from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
Property Boundaries
14 (L)“You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Laws Concerning Witnesses
15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. (M)Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If (N)a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, (O)before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall (P)inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 (Q)then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil[c] from your midst. 20 And the rest (R)shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 (S)Your eye shall not pity. (T)It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Hebrew road
- Deuteronomy 19:13 Or the blood of the innocent
- Deuteronomy 19:19 Or evil person
Deuteronomy 19
New American Standard Bible
Deuteronomy 19
New American Standard Bible
Cities of Refuge
19 “(A)When the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 (B)you shall set aside for yourself three cities in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to [a]possess. 3 You shall prepare the [b]roads for yourself, and divide into three regions the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as an inheritance, [c]so that anyone who commits manslaughter may flee there.
4 “(C)Now this is the case of the one who commits manslaughter, who may flee there and live: when he [d]kills his friend [e]unintentionally, [f]not hating him previously— 5 as when a person goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand [g]swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the [h]handle and [i]strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue [j]him [k]in the heat of his anger, and overtake him because the way is long, and [l]take his life, though he was not sentenced to death since he had not hated him previously. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside for yourself three cities.’
8 “And if the Lord your God (D)enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He [m]promised to give your fathers— 9 if you [n]carefully follow all of this commandment which I am commanding you today, (E)to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—(F)then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and (G)guilt for bloodshed will not be on you.
11 “But (H)if there is a person who hates his neighbor, and waits in ambush for him and rises up against him and strikes [o]him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send men and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 [p](I)You shall not pity him, but (J)you shall eliminate the guilt for the bloodshed of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well for you.
Laws of Landmark and Testimony
14 “(K)You shall not displace your neighbor’s boundary marker, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to [q]possess.
15 “(L)A single witness shall not rise up against a person regarding any wrongdoing or any sin [r]that he commits; on the [s]testimony of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. 16 (M)If a malicious witness rises up against a person to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 then both people who have the dispute shall stand (N)before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges (O)shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has testified against his brother falsely, 19 then (P)you shall do to him just as he had planned to do to his brother. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. 20 And (Q)the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 So [t](R)you shall not show pity: (S)life for life, (T)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:2 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit road
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit and it shall be for everyone who committed manslaughter to flee there
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit strikes
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit without knowledge
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit and he was not hating him previously
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit is put to the
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit wood
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit finds
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit the one who committed manslaughter
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit while his heart is hot
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit strike him in the soul
- Deuteronomy 19:8 Lit spoke
- Deuteronomy 19:9 Lit keep all...to do it
- Deuteronomy 19:11 Lit him in the soul
- Deuteronomy 19:13 Lit Your eye
- Deuteronomy 19:14 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit in any sin, that he sins
- Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three
- Deuteronomy 19:21 Lit your eye
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.