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]