Deuteronomy 19

1-3 When God, your God, throws the nations out of the country that God, your God, is giving you and you settle down in their cities and houses, you are to set aside three easily accessible cities in the land that God, your God, is giving you as your very own. Divide your land into thirds, this land that God, your God, is giving you to possess, and build roads to the towns so that anyone who accidentally kills another can flee there.

4-7  This is the guideline for the murderer who flees there to take refuge: He has to have killed his neighbor without premeditation and with no history of bad blood between them. For instance, a man goes with his neighbor into the woods to cut a tree; he swings the ax, the head slips off the handle and hits his neighbor, killing him. He may then flee to one of these cities and save his life. If the city is too far away, the avenger of blood racing in hot-blooded pursuit might catch him since it's such a long distance, and kill him even though he didn't deserve it. It wasn't his fault. There was no history of hatred between them. Therefore I command you: Set aside the three cities for yourselves.

8-10  When God, your God, enlarges your land, extending its borders as he solemnly promised your ancestors, by giving you the whole land he promised them because you are diligently living the way I'm commanding you today, namely, to love God, your God, and do what he tells you all your life; and when that happens, then add three more to these three cities so that there is no chance of innocent blood being spilled in your land. God, your God, is giving you this land as an inheritance—you don't want to pollute it with innocent blood and bring bloodguilt upon yourselves.

11-13  On the other hand, if a man with a history of hatred toward his neighbor waits in ambush, then jumps him, mauls and kills him, and then runs to one of these cities, that's a different story. The elders of his own city are to send for him and have him brought back. They are to hand him over to the avenger of blood for execution. Don't feel sorry for him. Clean out the pollution of wrongful murder from Israel so that you'll be able to live well and breathe clean air.

14  Don't move your neighbor's boundary markers, the longstanding landmarks set up by your pioneer ancestors defining their property.

15  You cannot convict anyone of a crime or sin on the word of one witness. You need two or three witnesses to make a case.

16-21  If a hostile witness stands to accuse someone of a wrong, then both parties involved in the quarrel must stand in the Presence of God before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. The judges must conduct a careful investigation; if the witness turns out to be a false witness and has lied against his fellow Israelite, give him the same medicine he intended for the other party. Clean the polluting evil from your company. People will hear of what you've done and be impressed; that will put a stop to this kind of evil among you. Don't feel sorry for the person: It's life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Deuteronomy 19

Laws Concerning Manslaughter

1 When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land het is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses,2 you must set apart for yourselves three citiess in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.3 You shall build a roadway and divide into thirds the whole extentt of your land that the Lord your God is providing as your inheritance; anyone who kills another person should flee to the closest of these cities.4 Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live,t if he has accidentally killed anothert without hating him at the time of the accident.t5 Suppose he goes with someone elset to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the axt to cut the tree, the ax head flies looset from the handle and strikest his fellow workert so hard that he dies. The person responsiblet may then flee to one of these cities to save himself.t6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him,t and kill him,t though this is not a capital caset since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.7 Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.8 If the Lord your God enlarges your borders as he promised your ancestorst and gives you all the land he pledged to them,t9 and then you are careful to observe all these commandmentst I am givingt you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more citiess to these three.10 You must not shed innocent bloodt in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty.t11 However, suppose a person hates someone elset and stalks him, attacks him, kills him,t and then flees to one of these cities.12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avengert to die.

13 You must not pity him, but purge out the blood of the innocents from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

Laws Concerning Witnesses

14 You must not encroach on your neighbor’s property,t which will have been definedt in the inheritance you will obtain in the land the Lord your God is giving you.t
15 A single witness may not testifyt against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally establishedt only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.16 If a falset witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime,t17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judgest who will be in office in those days.18 The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused,t19 you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purget evil from among you.20 The rest of the people will hear and become afraid to keep doing such evil among you.

21 You must not show pity; the principle will be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.s