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The New King James Version
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Three Cities of Refuge

19 “When the Lord your God ahas 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, byou shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 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.

“And cthis is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor 1unintentionally, not having hated him in time past—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 dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live; dlest 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. Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’

“Now if the Lord your God eenlarges your territory, as He swore to fyour fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, 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, gthen you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, 10 hlest 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 iif 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 jYour eye shall not pity him, kbut you shall 2put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

NKJV

About The New King James Version

The New King James Version is a total update of the 1611 King James Version, also known as the "Authorized Version." Every attempt has been made to maintain the beauty of the original version while updating the English grammar to contemporary style and usage. The result is much better "readability." It is noteworthy that the NKJV is one of the few modern translations still based on the "Western" or "Byzantine" manuscript tradition. This makes the New King James Version an invaluable aid to comparative English Bible study.

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New King James Version
Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc.
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