Deuteronomy 19

¹ When JehovahJehovah thy GodGod hath cut offcut off the nationsnations whose landland JehovahJehovah thy GodGod givethgiveth thee, and thou hast dispossessed them, and dwellest in their citiescities and in their houseshouses,

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

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

⁴ And this is the case of the slayer who shall fleeflee thither that he may live: he that smiteth his neighbourneighbour unwittingly, whom he hatedhated not previously;

⁵ as when he goethgoeth into the woodwood with his neighbourneighbour to hew woodwood, and his handhand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the treetree, and the ironiron slippeth from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbourneighbour, that he diedie; such an oneone 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, since he hatedhated him not previously.

⁷ Therefore I commandcommand thee, saying, Thou shalt separate threethree citiescities for thyself.

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 keepkeep all this commandmentcommandment to do it, which I commandcommand thee this dayday, to lovelove JehovahJehovah thy GodGod, and to walkwalk in his waysways continually), then shalt thou add threethree citiescities more for thyself to 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 bloodblood come not upon thee.

¹¹ But if a manman hatehate his neighbourneighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise uprise up against him, and smitesmite him mortally that he diedie, 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 spare him; and thou shalt putput away innocent bloodblood from IsraelIsrael, that it may be wellwell with thee.

¹⁴ Thou shalt not removeremove thy neighbour'sneighbour's landmark, which they of old time have fixed in thine inheritanceinheritance, which thou shalt inheritinherit in the landland which JehovahJehovah thy GodGod givethgiveth thee to possess.

¹⁵ OneOne witnesswitness shall not rise uprise up against a manman for any iniquityiniquity, and 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 an offence;

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 thorough inquiry; and if the witnesswitness be a false witnesswitness, and he have testified falsely against his brotherbrother,

¹⁹ then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brotherbrother; and thou shalt putput evilevil away from thy midst.

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

²¹ And thine eyeeye shall not spare: life for life, eyeeye for eyeeye, toothtooth for toothtooth, handhand for handhand, footfoot for footfoot.