Deuteronomy 19:1-10
Expanded Bible
Cities of Safety
19 When the Lord your God gives you land that belongs to the other nations, nations that he will ·destroy [cut off], you will ·force them out [dispossess them] and live in their cities and houses. 2 Then ·choose [set apart; separate] three cities in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession]. 3 ·Build roads to these cities [or Work out the distances], and divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts so that someone who kills another person may run to ·these cities [L there].
4 This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these cities in order to save his life [Ex. 21:13–14; Num. 35:6–34; Josh. 20]. But the person must have killed a neighbor ·without meaning to [accidentally; unintentionally], not out of hatred. 5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood and swings an ax to cut down a tree. If the ax head ·flies [slips] off the handle, ·hitting and killing [L finds] the neighbor, the one who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life. 6 Otherwise, the ·dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer [near-kinsman; L avenger of blood] might be angry and chase him. If the city is far away, the relative might ·catch [L pursue and overtake] and kill the person, even though he should not be killed because there was no intent to kill his neighbor. 7 This is why I command you to ·choose [set apart; separate] these three cities.
Deuteronomy 19:1-10
Amplified Bible
Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God cuts off (destroys) the nations whose land He is giving you, and you dispossess them and live in their cities and in their houses, 2 you shall designate three cities for yourself in the central area of the land, which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 You shall prepare and maintain for yourself the roads [to these cities], and divide the territory of your land into three parts, so that anyone who kills another unintentionally may escape there [for asylum].
4 “Now this is the case of the offender (manslayer) who may escape there and live [protected from vengeance]: when he kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him previously— 5 as [for example] when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, but the iron head slips off the wooden handle and hits his companion and he dies—the offender may escape to one of these cities and live; 6 otherwise the [a]avenger of blood might pursue the offender in the heat of anger, and overtake him, because it is a long way, and take his life, even though he did not deserve to die, since he did not hate his neighbor beforehand. 7 Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities [of refuge] for yourself.’
8 “If the Lord your God enlarges your border, as He has sworn to your fathers to do, and gives you all the land which He promised to give to your fathers— 9 if you keep and carefully observe all these commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk [that is, to live each and every day] always in His ways—then you shall add three more cities [of refuge] for yourself, besides these three, 10 so that innocent blood will not be shed [by blood avengers] in your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and blood guilt will not be on you [for the death of an innocent man].
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:6 The nearest male relative of the victim, known as the “kinsman-redeemer” (Heb go’el), was responsible to find the guilty party and put him to death (Num 35:19). The person who had committed the homicide was protected until his trial, so long as he remained in one of the three cities. After that, if he was judged innocent of any premeditation (like someone today judged guilty of manslaughter, but not murder), he was to remain in the city under protection from the avenger until the death of the high priest, at which time he could return to his home as a free man (Num 35:28).
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