Deuteronomy 19

¹When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; ²thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. ³Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which the LORD thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither. ⁴And this is the case of the manslayer, which shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past; ⁵as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live: ⁶lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. ⁷Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. ⁸And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy border, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; ⁹if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: ¹⁰that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. ¹¹But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die; and he flee into one of these cities: ¹²then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. ¹³Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. ¹⁴Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. ¹⁵One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. ¹⁶If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrong-doing; ¹⁷then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges which shall be in those days; ¹⁸and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; ¹⁹then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brother: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee. ²⁰And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee. ²¹And thine eye shall not pity; life shall gofor life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.