1 “ When the Lord your God cuts off the nations, whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses,

¶ When the LORD thy God has cut off the Gentiles whose land the LORD thy God gives thee, and thou hast inherited them and dost dwell in their cities and in their houses,

2 y ou shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you to possess.

thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God gives thee to inherit.

3 Y ou shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.

Thou shalt prepare thee a way and divide the borders of thy land, which the LORD thy God gives thee to inherit, into three parts, so that every manslayer may flee there.

4 “ Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously—

And this is the case of the manslayer who is to flee there, that he may live: whoever kills his neighbour by mistake, whom he hated not in time past;

5 a s when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live;

and he who went into the woods with his neighbour to cut firewood and his hand fetched a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree and the head slipped from the handle and lighted upon his neighbour so that he died, he shall flee unto one of those cities and live,

6 o therwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.

lest the avenger of the blood pursue the manslayer, 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 T herefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’

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

8 “ If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers—

And if the LORD thy God enlarges thy borders, as he has sworn unto thy fathers, and gives thee all the land which he was to give unto thy fathers,

9 i f you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always— then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three.

when thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day: to love the LORD thy God, and to walk all the days in his ways, then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three,

10 S o innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you.

that innocent blood not be shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God gives thee for an inheritance, and the blood shall not be upon thee.

11 “ But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities,

But when any man hates his neighbour and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and smites him mortally that he dies and flees into one of these cities,

12 t hen the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall die.

13 Y ou shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you. Laws of Landmark and Testimony

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 shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.

¶ Thou shalt not reduce thy neighbour’s border, which those of old time have marked in thine inheritance, which thou shalt possess in the land that the LORD thy God gives thee to inherit.

15 “ A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.

One witness shall not be valid against a man for any iniquity or for any sin, in any sin which he should commit. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

16 I f a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing,

When a false witness rises up against any man to testify rebellion against him,

17 t hen both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days.

then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, who shall be in those days;

18 T he judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely,

and the judges shall make diligent inquisition; and, behold, if the witness is a false witness and has testified falsely against his brother,

19 t hen you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.

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 T he rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.

And those who remain shall hear and fear and shall never again commit any such evil among you.

21 T hus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.