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15 (A)A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin [a]which he has committed; at the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established. 16 (B)If a malicious witness rises up against a man to [b]accuse him of [c]wrongdoing, 17 then both the men who have the dispute shall stand (C)before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges (D)shall inquire thoroughly, and behold, if the witness is a false witness and he has [d]accused his brother falsely, 19 then (E)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 (F)And the rest will hear and be afraid and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 Thus (G)your eye shall not show pity: (H)life for life, (I)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit in any sin, which he sins
  2. Deuteronomy 19:16 Lit testify against
  3. Deuteronomy 19:16 Lit turning aside
  4. Deuteronomy 19:18 Lit testified against

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.

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