Deuteronomy 19
19
Three Cities of Refuge
1“When the Lord your God #Deut. 12:29has 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#Ex. 21:13; Num. 35:10–15; Deut. 4:41; Josh. 20:2you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.
4“And #Num. 35:9–34; Deut. 4:42this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past— 5as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live; 6#Num. 35:12lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. 7Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’
8“Now if the Lord your God #Deut. 12:20enlarges your territory, as He swore to #Gen. 15:18–21your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, 9and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, #Josh. 20:7–9then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, 10#Num. 35:33; Deut. 21:1–9lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
11“But #Num. 35:16, 24; Deut. 27:24; (1 John 3:15)if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13#Deut. 13:8Your eye shall not pity him, #Num. 35:33, 34; 1 Kin. 2:31but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Property Boundaries
14#Deut. 27:17; Job 24:2; Prov. 22:28; Hos. 5:10“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
The Law Concerning Witnesses
15#Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 16If a false witness #Ex. 23:1; Ps. 27:12; 35:11rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, #Deut. 17:8–11; 21:5before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, 19#Prov. 19:5; Dan. 6:24then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so #Deut. 13:5; 17:7; 21:21; 22:21you shall put away the evil from among you. 20#Deut. 17:13; 21:21And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21#Deut. 19:13Your eye shall not pity: #Ex. 21:23, 24; Lev. 24:20; Matt. 5:38, 39life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
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Deuteronomy 19: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 19
19
1-3When God, your God, throws the nations out of the country that God, your God, is giving you and you settle down in their cities and houses, you are to set aside three easily accessible cities in the land that God, your God, is giving you as your very own. Divide your land into thirds, this land that God, your God, is giving you to possess, and build roads to the towns so that anyone who accidentally kills another can flee there.
4-7This is the guideline for the murderer who flees there to take refuge: He has to have killed his neighbor without premeditation and with no history of bad blood between them. For instance, a man goes with his neighbor into the woods to cut a tree; he swings the ax, the head slips off the handle and hits his neighbor, killing him. He may then flee to one of these cities and save his life. If the city is too far away, the avenger of blood racing in hot-blooded pursuit might catch him since it’s such a long distance, and kill him even though he didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t his fault. There was no history of hatred between them. Therefore I command you: Set aside the three cities for yourselves.
8-10When God, your God, enlarges your land, extending its borders as he solemnly promised your ancestors, by giving you the whole land he promised them because you are diligently living the way I’m commanding you today, namely, to love God, your God, and do what he tells you all your life; and when that happens, then add three more to these three cities so that there is no chance of innocent blood being spilled in your land. God, your God, is giving you this land as an inheritance—you don’t want to pollute it with innocent blood and bring guilt upon yourselves.
11-13On the other hand, if a man with a history of hatred toward his neighbor waits in ambush, then jumps him, mauls and kills him, and then runs to one of these cities, that’s a different story. The elders of his own city are to send for him and have him brought back. They are to hand him over to the avenger of blood for execution. Don’t feel sorry for him. Clean out the pollution of wrongful murder from Israel so that you’ll be able to live well and breathe clean air.
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14Don’t move your neighbor’s boundary markers, the longstanding landmarks set up by your pioneer ancestors defining their property.
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15You cannot convict anyone of a crime or sin on the word of one witness. You need two or three witnesses to make a case.
16-21If a hostile witness stands to accuse someone of a wrong, then both parties involved in the quarrel must stand in the Presence of God before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. The judges must conduct a careful investigation; if the witness turns out to be a false witness and has lied against his fellow Israelite, give him the same medicine he intended for the other party. Clean the polluting evil from your company. People will hear of what you’ve done and be impressed; that will put a stop to this kind of evil among you. Don’t feel sorry for the person: It’s life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.