| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Berean Study Bible |
| 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, | 1When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses, |
| 2you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess. | 2then you are to set apart for yourselves three cities within the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess. |
| 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. | 3You are to build roads for yourselves and divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities. |
| 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-- | 4Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him: |
| 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; | 5If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes and kills his neighbor, he may flee to one of these cities to save his life. |
| 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. | 6Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm. |
| 7"Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.' | 7This is why I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities. |
| 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-- | 8And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised them, |
| 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. | 9and if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you today, loving the LORD your God and walking in His ways at all times, then you are to add three more cities to these three. |
| 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. | 10Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed. |
| 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, | 11If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, |
| 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. | 12the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die. |
| 13"You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you. | 13You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you. |
| 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. | 14You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess. |
| 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. | 15A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. |
| 16"If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, | 16If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime, |
| 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. | 17both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. |
| 18"The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, | 18The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, |
| 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. | 19you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you. |
| 20"The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. | 20Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you. |
| 21"Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. | 21You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. |
| 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 | The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. |
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