Deuteronomy 19

Cities of Safety

1The Lord your God is giving you land that belongs to other nations. He will destroy those nations. You will force them out and live in their cities and houses. 2Then choose three cities. They must be in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. 3Build roads to those cities. And divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts. Then someone who kills another person may run to these cities.

4This is the rule for someone who kills another person. He may run to one of these cities to save his life. But he must have killed his neighbor without meaning to kill him. He did not hate his neighbor. 5A man might go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood. The man swings his ax to cut down a tree. But the ax head flies off the handle. It hits his neighbor and kills him. The man who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life. 6Otherwise, the dead man’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer might be angry and chase him. And the relative might catch him if the city is far away. The relative might kill the man. But the man should not be killed because he did not mean to kill his neighbor. 7This is why I command you to choose these three cities.

8-9Carefully obey all these laws I’m giving you today. Love the Lord your God. Always do what he wants you to do. Then the Lord your God will enlarge your land as he promised your ancestors. He will give you the whole land he promised to them. After that, choose three more cities of safety. 10This is so that innocent people will not be killed in your land. The Lord your God is giving it to you to own. By doing this you will not be guilty of murder.

11But a person might hate his neighbor. And he might hide and wait for him. He might attack and kill him and then run to one of these cities for safety. 12The elders of his own city should send for him. They should bring him back from the city of safety. And they should hand him over to the relative who has the duty of punishing the murderer. 13Give him no mercy. You must remove from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people. Then things will go well for you.

14Do not move the stone that marks the border of your neighbor’s land. People long ago set them in place. They mark what you inherit in the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.

Rules About Witnesses

15One witness is not enough to accuse a man of a crime or sin. A case must be proved by two or three witnesses.

16A witness might lie and accuse a person of a crime. 17The two people who are arguing must stand before the Lord. They must stand before the priests and judges who are on duty. 18The judges must check the matter carefully. The witness might be a liar. He might be lying about his fellow Israelite. 19If so, he must be punished as he wanted his brother punished. You must get rid of the evil among you. 20The rest of the people will hear about this and be afraid. No one among you will ever do such an evil thing again. 21Give him no mercy. A life must be paid for a life. It must be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.

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Deuteronomy 19: ICB

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Deḇarim (Deuteronomy) 19

1When יהוה your Elohim cuts off the nations whose land יהוה your Elohim is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,”

2separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess.

3“Prepare a way for yourself, and divide into three parts the border of your land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to inherit, that any man-slayer shall flee there.

4And this matter of the man-slayer who flees there and lives: he who strikes his neighbour unknowingly, not having hated him in time past,”

5even he who goes to the forest with his neighbour to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbour so that he dies – let him flee to one of these cities and live,

6lest the revenger of blood, while his displeasure is hot, pursue the man-slayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and shall strike his being, though he was not worthy of death, since he had not hated him before.

7“Therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘Separate three cities for yourself.’

8And if יהוה your Elohim enlarges your border, as He swore to your fathers, and has given you the land which He promised to give to your fathers - ”

9when you guard all this command to do it, which I am commanding you today, to love יהוה your Elohim and to walk in His ways all the days – then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three,

10so that innocent blood is not shed in the midst of your land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, or blood-guilt shall be upon you.

11“But when anyone hates his neighbour, and shall lie in wait for him and rise against him and strike his being so that he dies, then he shall flee to one of these cities,

12and the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and give him into the hand of the revenger of blood, and he shall die.

13“Your eye shall not pardon him, but you shall purge the blood of innocent blood from Yisra’ĕl, so that it might be well with you.

14“Do not remove your neighbour’s boundary, which those in the past have set, in your inheritance which you inherit in the land that יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess.

15“One witness does not rise up against a man concerning any crookedness or any sin that he commits. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses a matter is established.

16“When a malicious witness rises up against any man to accuse him of turning aside,

17then both men who have the dispute shall stand before יהוה, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.

18And the judges shall diligently search and see if the witness is a false witness, who has falsely accused his brother,”

19then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.

20“And let the rest hear and fear, and never again do this evil matter in your midst.

21“And let your eye not pardon, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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