Deuteronomy 19

Three Cities of Refuge

1 When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,2 you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.3 You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.4 And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past5 as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dieshe shall flee to one of these cities and live;6 lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past.7 Therefore I command you, saying, You shall separate three cities for yourself.8 Now if the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers,9 and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three,10 lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.11 But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities,12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Property Boundaries

14 You shall not remove your neighbors landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

The Law Concerning Witnesses

15 One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.16 If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,17 then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.18 And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,19 then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.20 And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.21 Your eye shall not pity: life shall be 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