Cities of Refuge |
Deuteronomy 19:1-21 Deuteronomy the Fifth Book of Moses |
When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God gives you & you [take over their land] & [live] in their cities & in their houses; you shall [set apart] 3 cities in the midst of the land, the Lord your God gives you to possess. |
You shall prepare [roads for yourselves] & divide the [territory] of the land the Lord your God gives you into 3 parts, [so] every slayer may flee there. This is the case of the slayer, who may flee there. [So] the case of the slayer, [who] flees [there,] may live: [whoever accidently] killed his neighbor & [didn’t hate] him in the past. |
[Like] when a man goes into the [woods] with his neighbor to [cut] wood & [when trying] to cut down the tree, the [ax head slips off the handle & strikes] his neighbor & he [dies.] He shall flee to 1 of those cities & live. |
Lest [while he’s angry,] the avenger of [bloodshed chases] the slayer & [overtakes] him, because the [distance] is long & [kills] him [when he wasn’t deserving] of death, [since] he hadn’t hated him in the past. |
[Therefore,] I command you, saying, You shall separate 3 cities for you. If the Lord your God [enlarges] your [territory] & gives you all the land [like] He has sworn & promised to give to your [forefathers.] |
If you shall keep & do all these commandments [that I give] you this day, to love the Lord your God & to [always] walk in His ways; then you shall add 3 more cities for you, [in addition to] these 3. [So,] innocent blood isn’t shed & no blood [is] upon you in your land [that] the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance. |
But if any man [hates] his neighbor & lies in wait to [ambush] him & rises up against him & [strikes] him & mortally [wounds him] & he dies & [then] flees to 1 of these cities: then the elders of his city shall send for him [there] & deliver him to the avenger of blood, [so] he may die. |
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent [bloodshed] from Israel, [so] it may go well with you. You may not remove your neighbor’s landmark, [put long ago to mark] your inheritance, in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess. |
[The testimony of] 1 witness shall not [count] against a man for any iniquity or sin [that he does.] At the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses, the matter shall be established. |
If a false witness rises up to testify [a lie] against [a man,] then, both the men [who have a] controversy, shall stand before the Lord, the priests & the judges, [that exist] in those days. |
The judges shall [diligently inquire] & if the witness [is] a false witness & has falsely testified against his brother; then you shall do to that [false witness what he wanted done to the person he was accusing.] |
So, you shall put away the evil from among you. Those [who] remain shall hear & [be afraid, so from then on, no one commits] any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. [Matthew 38-40 You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, That you [don’t] resist evil: but [whoever] shall [strikes] you on your right cheek, turn to him the other, also. And if any man [sues] you & takes away your coat, let him have your cloke, also.] |