| International Standard Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1"When the LORD your God destroys those nations whose lands he is about to give you, you must dispossess them and live in their cities and houses. | 1"When the LORD your God cuts off the nations, whose land the LORD your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, |
| 2You must reserve three cities within the land that the LORD your God is about to give you to possess. | 2you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess. |
| 3Build roads throughout the land that the LORD your God is providing as an inheritance, and then divide it into three districts so that any killer may flee there. | 3"You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there. |
| 4"Now this is the situation for any killer who flees there to live: suppose he strikes his friend unwittingly, not having hated him previously. | 4"Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously-- |
| 5For instance, he may have accompanied his friend to go to a forest to cut trees. Then he swung his axe to cut some wood, but the ax head flew off the handle and hit his friend, so that he died. The killer may flee to one of these cities to live. | 5as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies-- he may flee to one of these cities and live; |
| 6While the distance may be great and the angry avenger pursues the killer, he may overtake him and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend previously. | 6otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. |
| 7Therefore I am commanding you to reserve three cities." | 7"Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.' |
| 8"Now if the LORD enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised, | 8"If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers-- |
| 9and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk daily in his ways—then add three more cities in addition to these three cities. | 9if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always-- then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. |
| 10You must not shed innocent blood on your land that the LORD your God is about to give you as an inheritance. Otherwise, you'll be guilty of murder." | 10"So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you. |
| 11"However, if a person hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and attacks him so that he dies, and then he flees to one of those cities, | 11"But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, |
| 12then the elders of his own city shall send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. | 12then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. |
| 13Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you." | 13"You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you. |
| 14"When you inherit the land that the LORD your God is about to give you, don't move your neighbor's boundary marker from where it was placed long ago." | 14"You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess. |
| 15"The testimony of one person alone is not to suffice to convict anyone of any iniquity, sin, or guilt. But the matter will stand on the testimony of two or three witnesses. | 15"A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. |
| 16When a malicious witness takes the stand against a man and accuses him, | 16"If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, |
| 17then both must stand with their dispute in the LORD's presence, the priests, and the judges at that time. | 17then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. |
| 18The judges will investigate thoroughly. If the false witness lies in testifying against his relative, | 18"The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, |
| 19do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst. | 19then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. |
| 20When others hear of this, they will be afraid and will not do such an evil deed again in your midst. | 20"The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. |
| 21Your eyes must not show pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot." | 21"Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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