Deuteronomy 19

Cities of Safety

1 When the Lord your God gives you land that belongs to the other nations, nations that he will destroy, you will force them out and live in their cities and houses.2 Then choose three cities in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.

3 Build roads to these cities, and divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts so that someone who kills another person may run to these cities.
4 This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these cities in order to save his life. But the person must have killed a neighbor without meaning to, not out of hatred.5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood and swings an ax to cut down a tree. If the ax head flies off the handle, hitting and killing the neighbor, the one who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life.6 Otherwise, the dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer might be angry and chase him. If the city is far away, the relative might catch and kill the person, even though he should not be killed because there was no intent to kill his neighbor.

7 This is why I command you to choose these three cities.
8-9 Carefully obey all these laws I’m giving you today. Love the Lord your God, and always do what he wants you to do. Then the Lord your God will enlarge your land as he promised your ancestors, giving you the whole land he promised to them. After that, choose three more cities of safety

10 so that innocent people will not be killed in your land, the land that the Lord your God is giving you as your own. By doing this you will not be guilty of allowing the death of innocent people.
11 But if a person hates his neighbor and, after hiding and waiting, attacks and kills him and then runs to one of these cities for safety,12 the elders of his own city should send for the murderer. They should bring the person back from the city of safety and hand him over to the relative who has the duty of punishing the murderer.

13 Show no mercy. You must remove from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people so that things will go well for you.

14 Do not move the stone that marks the border of your neighbor’s land, which people long ago set in place. It marks what you inherit in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.

Rules About Witnesses

15 One witness is not enough to accuse a person of a crime or sin. A case must be proved by two or three witnesses.
16 If a witness lies and accuses a person of a crime,17 the two people who are arguing must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges who are on duty.18 The judges must check the matter carefully. The witness who is a liar, lying about a fellow Israelite,19 must be punished. He must be punished in the same way the other person would have been punished. You must get rid of the evil among you.20 The rest of the people will hear about this and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.21 Show no mercy. A life must be paid for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a 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