Deḇarim (Deuteronomy) 19
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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Deḇarim (Deuteronomy) 19: TS2009
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Deuteronomy 19
19
Cities of Safety
1“The Lord your God is giving you land that belongs to other nations. The Lord your God will destroy those nations. You will live where these people lived. You will take their cities and their houses. When that happens, 2-3you must divide the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Divide it into three parts and choose a city in the middle of each part that can be a place of safety. You must also build good roads to these cities. Then whoever kills another person may run to the closest city of safety.
4“This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these three cities for safety: It must be someone who killed another person accidentally, not out of hatred. 5Here is an example: A man goes into the forest with another person to cut wood. The man swings his ax to cut down a tree, but the head of the ax separates from the handle. The ax head hits the other person and kills him. The man who swung the ax may then run to one of these three cities and be safe. 6But if the city is too far away, he might not be able to run there fast enough. A close relative#19:6 close relative Literally, “avenger of blood.” When a person was killed, his relative had to be sure the killer was punished. Also in verse 12. of the person he killed might run after him and catch him before he reaches the city. The relative might kill the man in anger, even though he did not deserve to die because he did not mean to harm anyone. 7That is why I commanded you to choose three special cities.
8“The Lord your God promised your fathers that he would make your land larger. He will give you all the land that he promised to give to your ancestors. 9He will do this if you completely obey his commands that I give you today—if you love the Lord your God and always live the way he wants. Then, when he gives you more land, you should choose three more cities for safety. They should be added to the first three cities. 10Then innocent people will not be killed in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And you will not be guilty for any such deaths.
11“But suppose there is a man who hates his neighbor. That man might hide and wait to kill the person he hates. If he kills that person and runs to one of these cities of safety, 12the elders in his hometown must send someone to get him and take him away from the city of safety. These leaders must hand him over to the close relative. He is a murderer and he must die. 13Don’t feel sorry for him. He is guilty of killing an innocent person, and you must remove that guilt from Israel. Then everything will go well for you.
Property Lines
14“You must not move the stones that mark your neighbor’s property. People put them there in the past to mark each person’s property. These stones mark the land that the Lord your God gave you.
Witnesses
15“If someone is accused of doing something against the law, one witness is not enough to prove that the person is guilty. There must be two or three witnesses to prove that the person really did wrong.
16“A witness might try to hurt another person by lying and saying that this person did wrong. 17If that happens, both of them must go to the Lord’s special house and be judged by the priests and judges who are on duty at that time. 18When the judges carefully ask their questions, they might find that the witness lied against the other person. If the witnesses tell lies, 19you must punish them with the same punishment the other person would have received. In this way you will remove this evil from your group. 20Other people will hear about this and be afraid, and people will not do evil things like that again.
21“Don’t feel sorry about punishing someone who does wrong. If a life is taken, a life must be paid for it. The rule is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot—the punishment must equal the crime.
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