Deuteronomy 19

1 When Yahweh thy God, shall cut off the nations whose land Yahweh thy God is giving thee, —and thou shalt dispossess them, and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

When the LORD your God cuts off the nations whose land the LORD your God gives you, and you succeed them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

2 three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee, —in the midst of thy land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess.

you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the middle of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess.

3 Thou shalt prepare for thee a way, and shalt divide into three parts the boundary of thy land which Yahweh thy God shall cause thee to inherit, —and it shall be that every manslayer shall flee thither.

You shall prepare the way, and divide the borders of your land which the LORD your God causes you to inherit into three parts, that every man slayer may flee there.

4 And, this, is the case of the manslayer, who shall flee thither and live, —Whoso shall smite his neighbour unwittingly, he, not having hated him aforetime;

This is the case of the man slayer who shall flee there and live: Whoever kills his neighbour unintentionally, and didn’t hate him in time past—

5 as when one entereth with his neighbour into a forest, to fell trees, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe, to cut down the tree, and the head flieth off from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die, he, shall flee into one of these cities, and live;

as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbour to chop wood and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and hits his neighbour so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live.

6 lest the blood redeemer pursue the manslayer because his heart is hot, and overtake him because the way is long, and he smite him so as to take away his life, —he not being worthy of death, seeing that he had not been hating him aforetime.

Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer while hot anger is in his heart and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally, even though he was not worthy of death, because he didn’t hate him in time past.

7 For this cause, am I commanding thee saying, —Three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee.

Therefore I command you to set apart three cities for yourselves.

8 But, if Yahweh thy God should enlarge thy bounds, as he sware unto thy fathers, —and should give thee all the land, which he spake of giving unto thy fathers;

If the LORD 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 because thou dost observe all this commandment to do it which I am commanding thee to-day, to love Yahweh thy God and to walk in his paths all the days, then shalt thou add unto thee yet three cities, unto these three;

and if you keep all this commandment to do it, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk ever in his ways, then you shall add three cities more for yourselves, in addition to these three.

10 that innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of thy land, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee as an inheritance, —and so shed-blood be upon thee.

This is so that innocent blood will not be shed in the middle of your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance, leaving blood guilt on you.

11 But, when any man shall be hating his neighbour, and shall lie in wait for him and rise up against him, and smite him so as to take away his life that he dieth, —and shall then flee into one of these cities,

But if any man hates his neighbour, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, strikes him mortally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities;

12 then shall the elders of his city send and fetch him from thence, —and deliver him into the hand of the blood redeemer that he die;

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 thine eye shall not look with pity upon him, —so shall thou consume the shedding of innocent blood out of Israel and it shall go well with thee.

Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the innocent blood from Israel that it may go well with you.

14 Thou shalt not move back the boundary of thy neighbour, by which they set bounds at first, —in thine inheritance which thou shall receive in the land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess.

You shall not remove your neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit, in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.

15 One witness, shall not rise up, against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, with regard to any sin that he may commit, —at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses, must a matter be establish.

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.

16 When there shall rise up a wrongful witness against a man, —to answer against him perversely,

If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,

17 then shall the two men who are at variance stand before Yahweh, —before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;

then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;

18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition, —and lo! if the witness be, a false witness and, falsely, have answered against his brother,

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 shall ye do unto him as he had thought to de unto his brother, —so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst;

then you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother. So you shall remove the evil from amongst you.

20 and, they who remain shall hear and fear, —and not go on to do again according to this wicked thing, in thy midst:

Those who remain shall hear, and fear, and will never again commit any such evil amongst you.

21 neither shall thine eye pity, —life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Your eyes shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.