1 ` When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations, whose land Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, and thou hast succeeded them, and dwelt in their cities, and in their houses,

When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

2 t hree cities thou dost separate for thee in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it.

You shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess.

3 T hou dost prepare for thee the way, and hast divided into three parts the border of thy land which Jehovah thy God doth cause thee to inherit, and it hath been for the fleeing thither of every man-slayer.

You shall prepare the road and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, so that any manslayer can flee to them.

4 ` And this the matter of the man-slayer who fleeth thither, and hath lived: He who smiteth his neighbour unknowingly, and is not hating him heretofore,

And this is the case of the slayer who shall flee there in order that he may live. Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, for whom he had no enmity in time past—

5 e ven he who cometh in with his neighbour into a forest to hew wood, and his hand hath driven with an axe to cut the tree, and the iron hath slipped from the wood, and hath met his neighbour, and he hath died -- he doth flee unto one of these cities, and hath lived,

As when a man goes into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand strikes with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips off the handle and lights on his neighbor and kills him—he may flee to one of those cities and live;

6 l est the redeemer of blood pursue after the man-slayer when his heart is hot, and hath overtaken him (because the way is great), and hath smitten him -- the life, and he hath no sentence of death, for he is not hating him heretofore;

Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer while his heart are hot with anger and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him even though the slayer was not worthy of death, since he had not been at enmity with him previously.

7 t herefore I am commanding thee, saying, Three cities thou dost separate to thee.

Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities.

8 ` And if Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath sworn to thy fathers, and hath given to thee all the land which He hath spoken to give to thy fathers --

And if the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He has sworn to your fathers to do, and gives you all the land which He promised to your fathers to give,

9 w hen thou keepest all this command to do it, which I am commanding thee to-day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk in His ways all the days -- then thou hast added to thee yet three cities to these three;

If you keep all these commandments to do them, which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three other cities to these three,

10 a nd innocent blood is not shed in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance, and there hath been upon thee blood.

Lest innocent blood be shed in your land, which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and so blood guilt be upon you.

11 ` And when a man is hating his neighbour, and hath lain in wait for him, and risen against him, and smitten him -- the life, and he hath died, and he hath fled unto one of these cities,

But if any man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, and attacks him and wounds him mortally so that he dies, and the assailant flees into one of these cities,

12 t hen the elders of his city have sent and taken him from thence, and given him into the hand of the redeemer of blood, and he hath died;

Then the elders of his own city shall send for him and fetch him from there and give him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die.

13 t hine eye hath no pity on him, and thou hast put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with thee.

Your eyes shall not pity him, but you shall clear Israel of the guilt of innocent blood, that it may go well with you.

14 ` Thou dost not remove a border of thy neighbour, which they of former times have made, in thine inheritance, which thou dost inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it.

You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, which the men of old set.

15 ` One witness doth not rise against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin which he sinneth; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, is a thing established.

One witness shall not prevail against a man for any crime or any wrong in connection with any sin he commits; only on the testimony of two or three witnesses shall a charge be established.

16 ` When a violent witness doth rise against a man, to testify against him apostacy,

If a false witness rises up against any man to accuse him of wrongdoing,

17 t hen have both the men who have the strife stood before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges who are in those days,

Then both parties to the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.

18 a nd the judges have searched diligently, and lo, the witness a false witness, a falsehood he hath testified against his brother:

The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,

19 ` Then ye have done to him as he devised to do to his brother, and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst,

Then you shall do to him as he had intended to do to his brother. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

20 a nd those who are left do hear and fear, and add not to do any more according to this evil thing in thy midst;

And those who remain shall hear and fear, and shall henceforth commit no such evil among you.

21 a nd thine eye doth not pity -- life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Your eyes shall not pity: it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.