Deuteronomy 19

When ^athe Lord thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; ^2bthou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. ³Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. ⁴And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: ^cWhoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; ⁵as when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: ⁶lest ^dthe avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. ⁷Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. ^8eAnd if the Lord thy God ^eenlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and ^fgive thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; ⁹if 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; ^gthen shalt thou add three cities moe for thee, beside these three: ¹⁰that innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. ¹¹But ^hif any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: ¹²then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. ¹³ⁱThine eye shall not pity him, ^jbut thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

^14kThou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. ¹⁵One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: ^lat the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be stablished. ¹⁶If ^ma false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; ¹⁷then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, ⁿbefore the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; ¹⁸and the judges shall make ^odiligent inquisition: and behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; ^19pthen shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so ^qshalt thou put the evil away from among you. ²⁰And those which remain ^rshall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. ^21sAnd thine eye shall not pity; but ^tlife shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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