Deuteronomy

19 When Yahweh thy God shall cut off the nations whose land Yahweh thy God is giving thee,—and thou shalt dispossess them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,

2 three cities shalt thou set apart for thee,—in the midst of thy land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess.

3 Thou shalt prepare for thee a way, and shalt divide into three parts the boundary of thy land which Yahweh thy God shall cause thee to inherit,—and it shall be that every manslayer shall flee thither.

4 And this is the case of the manslayer, who shall flee thither and live,—Whoso shall smite his neighbour unwittingly, he not having hated him aforetime;

5 as when one entereth with his neighbour into a forest to fell trees, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head flieth off from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour that he die, he shall flee into one of these cities and live;

6 lest the blood redeemer pursue the manslayer because his heart is hot, and overtake him because the way is long, and he smite him so as to take away his life,—he not being worthy of death, seeing that he had not been hating him aforetime.

7 For this cause, am I commanding thee, saying,—Three cities shalt thou set apart for thee.

8 But if Yahweh thy God should enlarge thy bounds, as he sware unto thy fathers,—and should give thee all the land which he spake of giving unto thy fathers;

9 because thou dost observe all this commandment to do it which I am commanding thee to-day, to love Yahweh thy God, and to walk in his paths all the days, then shalt thou add unto thee yet three cities unto these three;

10 that innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of thy land, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee as an inheritance,—and so shed-blood be upon thee.

11 But when any man shall be hating his neighbour, and shall lie in wait for him and rise up against him and smite him so as to take away his life that he dieth,—and shall then flee into one of these cities,

12 then shall the elders of his city send and fetch him from thence,—and deliver him into the hand of the blood redeemer that he die;

13 thine eye shall not look with pity upon him,—so shalt thou consume the shedding of innocent blood out of Israel and it shall go well with thee.

14 Thou shalt not move back the boundary of thy neighbour, by which they set bounds at first,—in thine inheritance which thou shall receive in the land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess.

15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin, with regard to any sin that he may commit,—at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses must a matter be established.

16 When there shall rise up a wrongful witness against a man,—to answer against him perversely,

17 then shall the two men who are at variance stand before Yahweh,—before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;

18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition,—and lo! if the witness be a false witness and falsely have answered against his brother,

19 then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to do unto his brother,—so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst;

20 and they who remain shall hear and fear,—and not go on to do again according to this wicked thing in thy midst:

21 neither shall thine eye pity,—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.