1 When Yahweh your God shall cut off the nations, whose land Yahweh
your God gives you, and you succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in
their houses; 2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of
your land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it. 3 You shall
prepare you the way, and divide the borders of your land, which Yahweh your
God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee
there. 4 This is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and
live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn’t hate him in time past;
5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and
his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head
slips from the handle, and lights on his neighbor, so that he dies; he shall
flee to one of these cities and live: 6 lest the avenger of blood pursue
the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is
long, and strike him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch
as he didn’t hate him in time past. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, You
shall set apart three cities for you. 8 If Yahweh your God enlarge your
border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and give you all the land which he
promised to give to your fathers; 9 if you shall keep all this commandment
to do it, which I command you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to walk
ever in his ways; then shall you add three cities more for you, besides these
three: 10 that innocent blood not be shed in the midst of your land, which
Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, and so blood be on you.
11 But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up
against him, and strike him mortally so that he dies, and he flee into one of
these cities; 12 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 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent
blood from Israel, that it may go well with you. 14 You shall not remove
your neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in your
inheritance which you shall inherit, in the land that Yahweh your God gives
you to possess it. 15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any
iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins: at the mouth of two
witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against
him of wrong-doing, 17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is,
shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who shall be in
those days; 18 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 you do to him, as he had thought to do to
his brother: so shall you put away the evil from the midst of you.
20 Those who remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no
more any such evil in the midst of you. 21 Your eyes shall not pity; life
shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot
for foot.
World English Bible - Public Domain |
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