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Deuteronomy 19
Modern English Version

Cities of Refuge(A)

19 When the Lord your God 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 you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 You shall prepare a roadway for yourself, and divide the territory of your land into three parts, which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, so that every manslayer may flee there.

4 This is the word concerning the manslayer who will flee there, so that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, whom he did not hate previously, 5 like when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand raises the axe to cut down the tree, and the axe head slips from the handle and lands on his neighbor causing him to die, then he may flee to one of those cities, and live. 6 Otherwise the avenger of blood might, while he is angry, pursue the manslayer and overtake him (because the way is long) and kill him, even though he was not worthy of death (since he did not hate him previously). 7 Therefore, I command you, saying, “You shall set apart three cities for yourselves.”

8 If the Lord your God enlarges your borders as He promised your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give to your fathers, 9 and if you will carefully keep all these commandments, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to always walk in His ways, then you must add three cities more for yourself, besides these three. 10 Then innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, and blood guiltiness be on you.

11 But if any man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and rises up against him, and mortally strikes him, causing him to die, and flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city must send and fetch him from there, and deliver him to the hand of the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 Your eye must not pity him, but you must remove the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so 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 is giving you to possess.

Witnesses

15 A single witness must not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin that he sins. At the testimony of two witnesses or at the testimony of three witnesses shall the matter be established.

16 If a false witness rises up against any man to testify against him to accuse him of doing wrong, 17 then both the men between whom the controversy is must stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, who are in office those days. 18 The judges will thoroughly investigate, and if the witness is a false witness and has testified falsely against his brother, 19 then you must do to him as he conspired to have done to his brother. In this way you must remove the evil from among you. 20 Those who remain will hear and fear, and will never again commit any such evil among you. 21 You must not show pity. But life will be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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Deuteronomy 19
Lexham English Bible

19 “When Yahweh your God has exterminated[a] the nations concerning whom Yahweh your God is giving to you their land, and you have dispossessed them, and you have settled in their towns and in their houses, 2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. 3 You shall prepare the roads[b] for yourselves, and you shall divide the regions of your land into thirds that Yahweh your God gives you as a possession, so that it will be available for any manslayer to flee there.[c]

4 “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor unintentionally,[d] and he did not hate him previously.[e] 5 For example,[f] when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron head slips from the handle of the tool and strikes his neighbor and he dies, then he may flee to one of these cities, and so he may live. 6 He does this lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because he is hot with anger[g] and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance to the city of refuge, and so he kills him,[h] but he did not deserve a death sentence,[i] because he was not hating him before.[j] 7 Therefore I am commanding you, saying,[k] ‘You shall set apart three cities.’ 8 Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he swore to your ancestors[l] and gives[m] to you all the land that he promised[n] to give to your ancestors,[o] 9 then if you diligently observe this entire commandment[p] that I am commanding you today[q] by loving Yahweh your God and by going[r] in his ways at all times,[s] then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three. 10 Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed[t] in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance and thereby bloodguilt would be on you.[u]

11 But if someone hates[v] his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up[w] against him and murders him,[x] and the murderer flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death. 13 Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that good will be directed toward you.[y]

14 “You shall not move the boundary marker of your neighbor that former generations[z] set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. 15 The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict[aa] with respect to any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person[ab] committed; on the evidence[ac] of two witnesses or on the evidence[ad] of three witnesses a charge shall be sustained.[ae] 16 If a malicious witness[af] gets up to accuse[ag] anyone to testify against him falsely, 17 then the two men to whom the legal dispute pertains[ah] shall stand before[ai] Yahweh, before[aj] the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and if it turns out[ak] that the witness is a false witness and he testified falsely against his brother, 19 then you shall do to him as he meant[al] to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest[am] shall hear and shall fear, and they shall not continue to do such a thing again[an] as this evil thing in your midst. 21 You must show no pity:[ao] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 19:1 Literally “cut off”
  2. Deuteronomy 19:3 Hebrew “road”
  3. Deuteronomy 19:3 Literally “it shall be to flee there all/anyone killing”
  4. Deuteronomy 19:4 Literally “with no knowledge”
  5. Deuteronomy 19:4 Literally “from yesterday and the day before”
  6. Deuteronomy 19:5 Literally “And as”
  7. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “is hot his heart”
  8. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “he strikes him down as to his life/soul”
  9. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “for him there was not a judgment of death”
  10. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “from yesterday and the day before”
  11. Deuteronomy 19:7 Literally “to say”
  12. Deuteronomy 19:8 Or “fathers”
  13. Deuteronomy 19:8 Hebrew “will give”
  14. Deuteronomy 19:8 Literally “spoke”
  15. Deuteronomy 19:8 Or “fathers”
  16. Deuteronomy 19:9 Literally “if you observe all of the commandment the this to do it”
  17. Deuteronomy 19:9 Literally “the day”
  18. Deuteronomy 19:9 Or “walking”
  19. Deuteronomy 19:9 Literally “all of the days”
  20. Deuteronomy 19:10 Hebrew “is not shed”
  21. Deuteronomy 19:10 Hebrew “shall be on you,” but conditional sense of imperfect is clear
  22. Deuteronomy 19:11 Hebrew “is hating”
  23. Deuteronomy 19:11 Or “gets up”
  24. Deuteronomy 19:11 Literally “and strikes him mortally with regard to his life and he dies”
  25. Deuteronomy 19:13 Literally “and good shall be for you” or “it shall be good for you”
  26. Deuteronomy 19:14 Literally “the first settlers/ancestors”
  27. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “Not shall get up only a single witness against a man”
  28. Deuteronomy 19:15 Hebrew “he”
  29. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “mouth”
  30. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “mouth”
  31. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “shall be established a case/charge”
  32. Deuteronomy 19:16 Literally “a witness of violence”
  33. Deuteronomy 19:16 Literally “against”
  34. Deuteronomy 19:17 Literally “who for them are the legal dispute”
  35. Deuteronomy 19:17 Literally “to the face of”
  36. Deuteronomy 19:17 Literally “to the face of”
  37. Deuteronomy 19:18 Or “in fact”
  38. Deuteronomy 19:19 Or “planned”
  39. Deuteronomy 19:20 Literally “and those remaining”
  40. Deuteronomy 19:20 Literally “and they shall not do again to do again”
  41. Deuteronomy 19:21 Literally “And not take pity your eye”
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Deuteronomy 18
Deuteronomy 20
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.

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