Deuteronomy 19

1 When Yahweh your God shall cut off the nations, whose land Yahweh your God gives you, and you succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses;2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.3 You shall prepare you the way, and divide the borders of your land, which Yahweh your God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee there.4 This is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn’t hate him in time past;5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to chop wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle, and lights on his neighbor, so that he dies; he shall flee to one of thesecities and live:6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he didn’t hate him in time past.7 Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for yourselves.8 If Yahweh your God enlarges your border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he promised to give to your fathers;9 if you keep all this commandment to do it, which I command you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to walk ever in his ways; then you shall add three cities more for yourselves, besides these three:10 that innocent blood not be shed in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, and so blood be on you.11 But if any man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and rises up against him, and strikes him mortally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities;12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him there, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.14 You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit, in the land that Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother;19 then you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.20 Those who remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of you.

21 Your eyes shall not pity: 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