Deuteronomy 19

¹ When JehovahJehovah thy GodGod shall cut offcut off the nationsnations, whose landland JehovahJehovah thy GodGod givethgiveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their citiescities, and in their houseshouses;

² thou shalt set apart threethree citiescities for thee in the midstmidst of thy landland, which JehovahJehovah thy GodGod givethgiveth thee to possess it.

³ Thou shalt prepare thee the wayway, and divide the bordersborders of thy landland, which JehovahJehovah thy GodGod causeth thee to inherit, into three partsthree parts, that every manslayer may fleeflee thither.

⁴ And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall fleeflee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighborneighbor unawares, and hatedhated him not in time past;

⁵ as when a man goethgoeth into the forestforest with his neighborneighbor to hew woodwood, and his handhand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the treetree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighborneighbor, so that he diethdieth; he shall fleeflee unto oneone of these citiescities and live:

⁶ lest the avenger of bloodblood pursuepursue the manslayer, while his heart is hothot, and overtakeovertake him, because the wayway is longlong, and smitesmite him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hatedhated him not in time past.

⁷ Wherefore I commandcommand thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart threethree citiescities for thee.

⁸ And if JehovahJehovah thy GodGod enlarge thy borderborder, as he hath swornsworn unto thy fathersfathers, and givegive thee all the landland which he promised to givegive unto thy fathersfathers;

⁹ if thou shalt keepkeep all this commandmentcommandment to do it, which I commandcommand thee this dayday, to lovelove JehovahJehovah thy GodGod, and to walkwalk ever in his waysways; then shalt thou add threethree citiescities more for thee, besides these threethree:

¹⁰ that innocent bloodblood be not shed in the midst of thy landland, which JehovahJehovah thy GodGod givethgiveth thee for an inheritanceinheritance, and so bloodblood be upon thee.

¹¹ But if any manman hatehate his neighborneighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise uprise up against him, and smitesmite him mortally so that he diethdieth, and he fleeflee into oneone of these citiescities;

¹² then the elderselders of his citycity shall sendsend and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the handhand of the avenger of bloodblood, that he may diedie.

¹³ Thine eyeeye shall not pity him, but thou shalt putput away the innocent bloodblood from IsraelIsrael, that it may gogo wellwell with thee.

¹⁴ Thou shalt not removeremove thy neighbor'sneighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritanceinheritance which thou shalt inheritinherit, in the landland that JehovahJehovah thy GodGod givethgiveth thee to possess it.

¹⁵ OneOne witnesswitness shall not rise uprise up against a manman for any iniquityiniquity, or for any sinsin, in any sinsin that he sinneth: at the mouthmouth of two witnessestwo witnesses, or at the mouthmouth of threethree witnesseswitnesses, shall a matter be established.

¹⁶ If an unrighteous witnesswitness rise uprise up against any manman to testify against him of wrong-doing,

¹⁷ then bothboth the men, between whom the controversy is, shall standstand beforebefore JehovahJehovah, beforebefore the priestspriests and the judgesjudges that shall be in those daysdays;

¹⁸ and the judgesjudges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witnesswitness be a false witnesswitness, and have testified falsely against his brotherbrother;

¹⁹ then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brotherbrother: so shalt thou putput away the evilevil from the midst of thee.

²⁰ And those that remain shall hearhear, and fearfear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evilevil in the midst of thee.

²¹ And thine eyeseyes shall not pity; life [shall gogo] for life, eyeeye for eyeeye, toothtooth for toothtooth, handhand for handhand, footfoot for footfoot.