Devarim 19
Orthodox Jewish Bible
19 When Hashem Eloheicha hath cut off the Goyim, whose land Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, and thou dispossess them, and dwellest in their towns, and in their batim (houses),
2 Thou shalt separate shalosh arim (three towns) for thee in the midst of thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it.
3 Thou shalt prepare yourselves roads, and divide the territory of thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee there.
4 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee there, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbor without da’as, whom he hated not in time past;
5 As when an ish goeth into the wood with his neighbor to cut wood, his hand swings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, the head slippeth from the handle, and strikes upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those towns, and live;
6 Lest the Go’el HaDahm pursue the slayer, while his lev is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
7 Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate shalosh arim for thee.
8 And if Hashem Eloheicha enlarge thy territory, as He hath sworn unto Avoteicha, and give thee kol ha’aretz which He promised to give unto Avoteicha;
9 If thou shalt be shomer over all these mitzvot to do them, which I command thee today, to love Hashem Eloheicha, and to walk ever in His ways; then shalt thou add three towns more for thee, beside these three;
10 That dahm naki (innocent blood) be not shed in thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee for a nachalah, and so dahmim be upon thee.
11 But if any ish hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these towns;
12 Then the zekenim of his town shall send and have him taken from there, and deliver him into the yad of the Goel HaDahm, that he may die.
13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of dahm naki from Yisroel, that it may go well with thee.
14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine nachalah, which thou shalt inherit in the eretz that Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it.
15 Ed echad shall not rise up against an ish for any avon (iniquity), or for any chattat (sin), in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of shney edim, or at the mouth of shloshah edim, shall the matter be established.
16 If an ed chamas (malicious, false witness) rise up against any ish to testify against him that which is wrong;
17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Hashem, before the kohanim and the shofetim, which shall be in those days;
18 And the shofetim shall make diligent inquiry; and, hinei, if the witness be an ed sheker (false witness), and hath testified falsely against his brother;
19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put harah away from among you.
20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such rah among you.
21 And thine eye shall not pity; but nefesh shall go for nefesh, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, yad for yad, regel for regel.
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.
Deuteronomy 19
Complete Jewish Bible
19 “When Adonai your God cuts off the nations whose land Adonai your God is giving you, and you take their place and settle in their cities and houses, 2 you are to set aside three cities for yourselves in your land that Adonai your God is giving you to possess. 3 Divide the territory of your land, which Adonai your God is having you inherit, into three parts; and prepare the roads, so that any killer can flee to these cities. 4 The killer who will live if he flees there is someone who has killed his fellow member of the community by mistake, who did not hate him in the past. 5 An example would be if a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood and takes a stroke with the axe to fell a tree, but the head of the axe flies off the handle, hits his neighbor and kills him. Then he is to flee to one of these cities and live there. 6 Otherwise the next-of-kin avenger, in the heat of his anger, may pursue the killer, overtake him because the distance [to the city of refuge] is long, and strike him dead — even though he didn’t deserve to die, inasmuch as he hadn’t hated him in the past. 7 This is why I am ordering you to set aside for yourselves three cities.
8 “If Adonai your God expands your territory, as he swore to your ancestors that he would, and gives you all the land he promised to give to your ancestors — 9 provided you keep and observe all these mitzvot I am giving you today, loving Adonai your God and always following his ways — then you are to add three more cities for yourselves, besides these three; 10 so that innocent blood will not be shed in the land Adonai your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus blood guilt be on you.
11 “However, if someone hates his fellow member of the community, lies in wait for him, attacks him, strikes him a death blow, and then flees into one of these cities; 12 then the leaders of his own town are to send and bring him back from there and hand him over to the next-of-kin avenger, to be put to death. 13 You are not to pity him. Rather, you must put an end to the shedding of innocent blood in Isra’el. Then things will go well with you.
(vi) 14 “You are not to move your neighbor’s boundary marker from the place where people put it long ago, in the inheritance soon to be yours in the land Adonai your God is giving you to possess.
15 “One witness alone will not be sufficient to convict a person of any offense or sin of any kind; the matter will be established only if there are two or three witnesses testifying against him.
16 “If a malicious witness comes forward and gives false testimony against someone, 17 then both the men involved in the controversy are to stand before Adonai, before the cohanim and the judges in office at the time. 18 The judges are to investigate carefully. If they find that the witness is lying and has given false testimony against his brother, 19 you are to do to him what he intended to do to his brother. In this way, you will put an end to such wickedness among you. 20 Those who remain will hear about it, be afraid and no longer commit such wickedness among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
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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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