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19 When Hashem Eloheicha hath cut off the Goyim, whose land Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, and thou dispossess them, and dwellest in their towns, and in their batim (houses),

Thou shalt separate shalosh arim (three towns) for thee in the midst of thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it.

Thou shalt prepare yourselves roads, and divide the territory of thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee there.

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee there, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbor without da’as, whom he hated not in time past;

As when an ish goeth into the wood with his neighbor to cut wood, his hand swings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, the head slippeth from the handle, and strikes upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those towns, and live;

Lest the Go’el HaDahm pursue the slayer, while his lev 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.

Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate shalosh arim for thee.

And if Hashem Eloheicha enlarge thy territory, as He hath sworn unto Avoteicha, and give thee kol ha’aretz which He promised to give unto Avoteicha;

If thou shalt be shomer over all these mitzvot to do them, which I command thee today, to love Hashem Eloheicha, and to walk ever in His ways; then shalt thou add three towns more for thee, beside these three;

10 That dahm naki (innocent blood) be not shed in thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee for a nachalah, and so dahmim be upon thee.

11 But if any ish hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these towns;

12 Then the zekenim of his town shall send and have him taken from there, and deliver him into the yad of the Goel HaDahm, that he may die.

13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of dahm naki from Yisroel, that it may go well with thee.

14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine nachalah, which thou shalt inherit in the eretz that Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it.

15 Ed echad shall not rise up against an ish for any avon (iniquity), or for any chattat (sin), in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of shney edim, or at the mouth of shloshah edim, shall the matter be established.

16 If an ed chamas (malicious, false witness) rise up against any ish to testify against him that which is wrong;

17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Hashem, before the kohanim and the shofetim, which shall be in those days;

18 And the shofetim shall make diligent inquiry; and, hinei, if the witness be an ed sheker (false witness), and hath testified falsely against his brother;

19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put harah away from among you.

20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such rah among you.

21 And thine eye shall not pity; but nefesh shall go for nefesh, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, yad for yad, regel for regel.

Cities of Refuge(A)

19 When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,(B) then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. Otherwise, the avenger of blood(C) might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

If the Lord your God enlarges your territory,(D) as he promised(E) on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him(F)—then you are to set aside three more cities. 10 Do this so that innocent blood(G) will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.(H)

11 But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor,(I) and then flees to one of these cities, 12 the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show no pity.(J) You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood,(K) so that it may go well with you.

14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.(L)

Witnesses

15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.(M)

16 If a malicious witness(N) takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges(O) who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation,(P) and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.(Q) You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid,(R) and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity:(S) life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.(T)