Deuteronomy 19
Legacy Standard Bible
Statutes About Cities of Refuge
19 “(A)When Yahweh your God cuts off the nations, whose land Yahweh your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 (B)you shall set apart three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you to [a]possess. 3 You shall prepare the [b]roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which Yahweh your God will give you to inherit, [c]so that any manslayer may flee there.
4 “(C)Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he strikes down his friend [d]without premeditation, [e]not hating him previously— 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand [f]swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the [g]handle and [h]strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer when his heart is [i]angry, and overtake him, because the way is long, and [j]strike down his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. 7 Therefore, I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall set apart three cities for yourself.’
8 “Now if Yahweh your God (D)enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He [k]promised to give to your fathers— 9 if you [l]be careful to do all this commandment which I am commanding you today, (E)to love Yahweh your God and to walk in His ways all your days—(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 Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance, and (G)bloodguiltiness be on you.
11 “But (H)if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes down [m]his life so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and give him over into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 [n](I)You shall not pity him, but (J)you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Statutes About Boundaries and Witnesses
14 “(K)You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that Yahweh your God gives you to [o]possess.
15 “(L)A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin [p]which he has committed; at the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established. 16 (M)If a malicious witness rises up against a man to [q]accuse him of [r]wrongdoing, 17 then both the men who have the dispute shall stand (N)before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges (O)shall inquire thoroughly, and behold, if the witness is a false witness and he has [s]accused his brother falsely, 19 then (P)you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20 (Q)And the rest will hear and be afraid and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 Thus (R)your eye shall not show pity: (S)life for life, (T)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:2 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit road
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit and it shall be for every manslayer to flee there
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit without knowledge
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit and he was not hating him previously
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit is thrust with
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit wood
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit finds
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Or hot
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit strike him in the soul
- Deuteronomy 19:8 Lit spoke
- Deuteronomy 19:9 Lit keep...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, which he sins
- Deuteronomy 19:16 Lit testify against
- Deuteronomy 19:16 Lit turning aside
- Deuteronomy 19:18 Lit testified against
Deuteronomy 19
New Living Translation
Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he is giving you, you will take over their land and settle in their towns and homes. 2 Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 3 Survey the territory,[a] and divide the land the Lord your God is giving you into three districts, with one of these cities in each district. Then anyone who has killed someone can flee to one of the cities of refuge for safety.
4 “If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety. 5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax to chop down a tree, and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.
6 “If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. Then the slayer would die unfairly, since he had never shown hostility toward the person who died. 7 That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge.
8 “And if the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised them, 9 you must designate three additional cities of refuge. (He will give you this land if you are careful to obey all the commands I have given you—if you always love the Lord your God and walk in his ways.) 10 That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people.
11 “But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge. 12 In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death. 13 Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you.
Concern for Justice
14 “When you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone’s land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property.
15 “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16 “If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, 17 then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time. 18 The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, 19 you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. 20 Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. 21 You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Footnotes
- 19:3 Or Keep the roads in good repair.
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