| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 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 destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns 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 set aside for yourselves three cities in the land 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. | 3Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of 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-- | 4This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety--anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. |
| 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; | 5For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and 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 him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. |
| 7"Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.' | 7This is why I command you to set aside 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-- | 8If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole 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. | 9because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today--to love the LORD your God and to walk always in obedience to him--then you are to set aside three more cities. |
| 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. | 10Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and 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, | 11But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, 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 killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed 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. | 13Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so 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. | 14Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land 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. | 15One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they 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 malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone 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. | 17the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. |
| 18"The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, | 18The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, |
| 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. | 19then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. 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. | 20The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. |
| 21"Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. | 21Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, 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 | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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