| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1“When the LORD your God cuts off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their 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 shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the land that 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 shall measure the distances and divide into three parts the area of the land that the LORD your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them. | 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“This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past— | 4“If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety. |
| 5as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he 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. |
| 6lest the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him fatally, though the man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past. | 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. |
| 7Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities. | 7That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge. |
| 8And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that he promised to give to your fathers— | 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 are careful to keep all this commandment, which I command you today, by loving the LORD your God and by walking ever in his ways—then you shall add three other 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.) |
| 10lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you. | 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. |
| 11“But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes him fatally so that he dies, and he flees into 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. |
| 12then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may 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. |
| 13Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you. | 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“You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that 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“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. | 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. |
| 16If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, | 16“If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, |
| 17then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. | 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 shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, | 18The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, |
| 19then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. | 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. |
| 20And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. | 20Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. |
| 21Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | 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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