Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close LEB

Deuteronomy 19
Lexham English Bible

19 “When Yahweh your God has exterminated[a] the nations concerning whom Yahweh your God is giving to you their land, and you have dispossessed them, and you have settled in their towns and in their houses, 2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. 3 You shall prepare the roads[b] for yourselves, and you shall divide the regions of your land into thirds that Yahweh your God gives you as a possession, so that it will be available for any manslayer to flee there.[c]

4 “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor unintentionally,[d] and he did not hate him previously.[e] 5 For example,[f] when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron head slips from the handle of the tool and strikes his neighbor and he dies, then he may flee to one of these cities, and so he may live. 6 He does this lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because he is hot with anger[g] and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance to the city of refuge, and so he kills him,[h] but he did not deserve a death sentence,[i] because he was not hating him before.[j] 7 Therefore I am commanding you, saying,[k] ‘You shall set apart three cities.’ 8 Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he swore to your ancestors[l] and gives[m] to you all the land that he promised[n] to give to your ancestors,[o] 9 then if you diligently observe this entire commandment[p] that I am commanding you today[q] by loving Yahweh your God and by going[r] in his ways at all times,[s] then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three. 10 Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed[t] in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance and thereby bloodguilt would be on you.[u]

11 But if someone hates[v] his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up[w] against him and murders him,[x] and the murderer flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death. 13 Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that good will be directed toward you.[y]

14 “You shall not move the boundary marker of your neighbor that former generations[z] set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. 15 The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict[aa] with respect to any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person[ab] committed; on the evidence[ac] of two witnesses or on the evidence[ad] of three witnesses a charge shall be sustained.[ae] 16 If a malicious witness[af] gets up to accuse[ag] anyone to testify against him falsely, 17 then the two men to whom the legal dispute pertains[ah] shall stand before[ai] Yahweh, before[aj] the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and if it turns out[ak] that the witness is a false witness and he testified falsely against his brother, 19 then you shall do to him as he meant[al] to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest[am] shall hear and shall fear, and they shall not continue to do such a thing again[an] as this evil thing in your midst. 21 You must show no pity:[ao] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 19:1 Literally “cut off”
  2. Deuteronomy 19:3 Hebrew “road”
  3. Deuteronomy 19:3 Literally “it shall be to flee there all/anyone killing”
  4. Deuteronomy 19:4 Literally “with no knowledge”
  5. Deuteronomy 19:4 Literally “from yesterday and the day before”
  6. Deuteronomy 19:5 Literally “And as”
  7. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “is hot his heart”
  8. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “he strikes him down as to his life/soul”
  9. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “for him there was not a judgment of death”
  10. Deuteronomy 19:6 Literally “from yesterday and the day before”
  11. Deuteronomy 19:7 Literally “to say”
  12. Deuteronomy 19:8 Or “fathers”
  13. Deuteronomy 19:8 Hebrew “will give”
  14. Deuteronomy 19:8 Literally “spoke”
  15. Deuteronomy 19:8 Or “fathers”
  16. Deuteronomy 19:9 Literally “if you observe all of the commandment the this to do it”
  17. Deuteronomy 19:9 Literally “the day”
  18. Deuteronomy 19:9 Or “walking”
  19. Deuteronomy 19:9 Literally “all of the days”
  20. Deuteronomy 19:10 Hebrew “is not shed”
  21. Deuteronomy 19:10 Hebrew “shall be on you,” but conditional sense of imperfect is clear
  22. Deuteronomy 19:11 Hebrew “is hating”
  23. Deuteronomy 19:11 Or “gets up”
  24. Deuteronomy 19:11 Literally “and strikes him mortally with regard to his life and he dies”
  25. Deuteronomy 19:13 Literally “and good shall be for you” or “it shall be good for you”
  26. Deuteronomy 19:14 Literally “the first settlers/ancestors”
  27. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “Not shall get up only a single witness against a man”
  28. Deuteronomy 19:15 Hebrew “he”
  29. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “mouth”
  30. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “mouth”
  31. Deuteronomy 19:15 Literally “shall be established a case/charge”
  32. Deuteronomy 19:16 Literally “a witness of violence”
  33. Deuteronomy 19:16 Literally “against”
  34. Deuteronomy 19:17 Literally “who for them are the legal dispute”
  35. Deuteronomy 19:17 Literally “to the face of”
  36. Deuteronomy 19:17 Literally “to the face of”
  37. Deuteronomy 19:18 Or “in fact”
  38. Deuteronomy 19:19 Or “planned”
  39. Deuteronomy 19:20 Literally “and those remaining”
  40. Deuteronomy 19:20 Literally “and they shall not do again to do again”
  41. Deuteronomy 19:21 Literally “And not take pity your eye”
Listen to Deuteronomy 19
Close NIV

Deuteronomy 19
New International Version

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) 2 then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 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.

4 This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 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. 6 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. 7 This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

8 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, 9 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)

Next
Deuteronomy 18
Deuteronomy 20
Next
dropdown
Lexham English Bible (LEB)

2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV