THE FIFTH BOOK OF
MOSES,
called
D E U T E R O N O M Y
Deuteronomy 19 ©
Of appointing three cities of refuge in the land of Canaan, and for whom they were to be a refuge, v. 1, etc. Of appointing still three other cities of refuge thereafter, 8. Of the punishment of the willful murderers, 11. A prohibition against removing the neighbor’s landmark, 14. Of the number of witnesses to be present before the judgment seat, and the punishment of false witnesses, 15.
WHEN the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest 1them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
Thoua shalt separate 2three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
Thou shalt prepare thee a 3way, and divide the 4coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into 5three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
¶And this is the 6case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whosob killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not 7in time past;
As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand 8fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, 9and the head slippeth 10from the helve,c and 11lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
Lest the 12avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and 13slay him; whereas he was 14not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not 15in time past.
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.
And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promisedd to give unto thy fathers;
If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities moree for thee, beside these three:
That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so 16blood be upon thee.
¶But iff any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him 17mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:
Then the elders 18of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
¶Thoug shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they 19of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
¶Oneh witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in 20any sin that he sinneth: ati the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the 21matter be established.
¶If 22a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;
Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before 23the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
And the judges shall make diligent inquisition:j and, behold, if the witness be 24a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
Thenk shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: 25so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
And those 26which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such 27evil among you.
And thine eye shall not pity; but 28lifelshall go for life, 29eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.