Deuteronomy 18:12-20:11

New King James Version

¹² For all who do these things are ^[a]an abomination to the Lord, and ^(A)because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. ¹³ You shall be ^[b]blameless before the Lord your God. ¹⁴ For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not ^[c]appointed such for you.

A New Prophet Like Moses

^15 (B)“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, ¹⁶ according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb ^(C)in the day of the assembly, saying, ^(D)‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’

¹⁷ “And the Lord said to me: ^(E)‘What they have spoken is good. ^18 (F)I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and ^(G)will put My words in His mouth, ^(H)and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ^19 (I)And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. ²⁰ But ^(J)the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or ^(K)who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ ²¹ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— ^22 (L)when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, ^(M)if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it ^(N)presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Three Cities of Refuge^(O)

19 “When the Lord your God ^(P)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 (Q)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 ^(R)this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor ^[d]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 (S)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 ^(T)enlarges your territory, as He swore to ^(U)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, ^(V)then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, ^10 (W)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 ^(X)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 (Y)Your eye shall not pity him, ^(Z)but you shall ^[e]put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Property Boundaries

^14 (AA)“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 (AB)“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 ^(AC)rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, ¹⁷ then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, ^(AD)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 (AE)then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so ^(AF)you shall put away the evil from among you. ^20 (AG)And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. ^21 (AH)Your eye shall not pity: ^(AI)life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Principles Governing Warfare

20 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see ^(AJ)horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be ^(AK)afraid of them; for the Lord your God is ^(AL)with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. ² So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. ³ And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; ⁴ for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, ^(AM)to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

⁵ “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not ^(AN)dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. ⁶ Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. ^7 (AO)And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’

⁸ “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ^(AP)‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, ^[f]lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’ ⁹ And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

¹⁰ “When you go near a city to fight against it, ^(AQ)then proclaim an offer of peace to it. ¹¹ And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.