Deuteronomy, 19

1. 'When Yahweh your God has annihilated the nations whose country Yahweh your God is going to give you, and you have dispossessed them and are living in their towns and in their houses,

1. When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;

2. you must set aside three towns, centrally placed in the country which Yahweh your God is giving you for your own.

2. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

3. You will keep the approaches to them in good order, dividing the area of the country which Yahweh your God is giving you as your heritage, into three parts, so that any killer can flee to these towns.

3. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

4. Here is an example of how someone may save his life by fleeing to them. 'If anyone has struck his fellow accidentally, without any previous feud with him

4. And this [is] the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

5. (for example, he goes with his fellow into the forest to cut wood; his arm swings the axe to fell a tree; the head slips off the handle and strikes his companion dead), that man may take refuge in one of these towns and save his life.

5. As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:

6. It must not be allowed that the avenger of blood, in the heat of his anger, should pursue the killer and that the length of the road should help him to overtake and wound him fatally; for the man has not deserved to die, having had no previous feud with his victim.

6. Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart 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. 'Hence I am giving you this order: You must set aside three towns,

7. Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

8. and if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors that he would, and gives you the whole country which he promised to give to your ancestors-

8. And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

9. provided that you keep and observe all the commandments which I am enjoining on you today, loving Yahweh your God and always following his ways-then, to those three towns you will add three more.

9. If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

10. In this way, innocent blood will not be shed in the country which Yahweh your God is going to give you as your heritage; otherwise you would incur blood-guilt.

10. That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance, and [so] blood be upon thee.

11. 'But if it happens that a man has a feud with his fellow and lies in wait for him and attacks him and fatally wounds him and he dies, and the man takes refuge in one of these towns,

11. But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:

12. the elders of his own town must send there and have him taken and handed over to the avenger of blood, to be put to death.

12. Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

13. You must show him no pity. You must banish the shedding of innocent blood from Israel, and then you will prosper.

13. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away [the guilt of] innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

14. 'You must not displace your neighbour's boundary mark, positioned by men of old in the heritage soon to be yours, in the country which Yahweh your God is about to give you.

14. Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

15. 'A single witness will not suffice to convict anyone of a crime or offence of any kind; whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two witnesses or three is required to sustain the charge.

15. One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

16. 'If someone gives false evidence against anyone, laying a charge of apostasy,

16. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him [that which is] wrong;

17. both parties to this dispute before Yahweh must appear before the priests and judges then in office.

17. Then both the men, between whom the controversy [is], shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;

18. The judges will make a careful enquiry, and if it turns out that the witness is a liar and has made a false accusation against his brother,

18. And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother;

19. you must treat the witness as he would have treated his brother. You must banish this evil from among you.

19. Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

20. The rest, hearing of this, will be afraid and never again do such an evil thing among you.

20. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

21. You must show no pity. 'Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.'

21. And thine eye shall not pity; [but] life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.