Deuteronomy 19:6–12

⁶Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger^C might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die,^D since he did not previously hate his neighbor. ⁷This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves. ⁸If the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised to give them—⁹provided you keep every one of these commands I am giving you today and follow them, loving the Lord your God and walking in his ways at all times—you are to add three more cities to these three. ¹⁰In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.^{a 11}But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, ¹²the elders of his city are to send for him, take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die.