| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1"When the LORD your God annihilates the nations whose land he is giving you, so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses, | 1“When the LORD your God destroys the nations whose land he is giving you, you will take over their land and settle in their towns and homes. |
| 2you are to set apart three cities for yourselves within the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. | 2Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you. |
| 3You are to determine the distances and divide the land the LORD your God is granting you as an inheritance into three regions, so that anyone who commits manslaughter can flee to these cities. | 3Survey the territory, and divide the land the LORD your God is giving you into three districts, with one of these cities in each district. Then anyone who has killed someone can flee to one of the cities of refuge for safety. |
| 4"Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him: | 4“If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety. |
| 5If, for example, he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings the ax to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies, that person may flee to one of these cities and live. | 5For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax to chop down a tree, and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety. |
| 6Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger 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, since he did not previously hate his neighbor. | 6“If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. Then the slayer would die unfairly, since he had never shown hostility toward the person who died. |
| 7This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves. | 7That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge. |
| 8If the LORD your God enlarges your territory as he swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land he promised to give them-- | 8“And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised 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. | 9you must designate three additional cities of refuge. (He will give you this land if you are careful to obey all the commands I have given you—if you always love the LORD your God and walk in his ways.) |
| 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. | 10That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people. |
| 11But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, | 11“But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge. |
| 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. | 12In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death. |
| 13Do not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper. | 13Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you. Concern for Justice |
| 14"Do not move your neighbor's boundary marker, established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. | 14“When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone’s land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property. |
| 15"One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. | 15“You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. |
| 16"If a malicious witness testifies against someone accusing him of a crime, | 16“If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, |
| 17the two people in the dispute are to stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and judges in authority at that time. | 17then both the accuser and accused must appear before the LORD by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time. |
| 18The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, | 18The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, |
| 19you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you. | 19you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. |
| 20Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you. | 20Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. |
| 21Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. | 21You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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