Deuteronomy 19

1. “When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land the LORD your God gives you, and when you take their place and live in their cities and in their houses,

2. You shall separate three cities for you in the middle of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess it.

3. You shall prepare you a way, and divide the borders of your land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit into three parts so that any manslayer may flee there.

4. And this is the case of the manslayer who shall flee there that he may live: whoever in error kills his neighbor whom he did not hate in time past,

5. Even he who goes into the woods with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand brings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the wood and lights on his neighbor so that he dies; he shall flee to one of those cities and live

6. So that the avenger of the blood may not pursue the manslayer while his heart is hot, and overtake him because the way is long and kill him, though the man is not worthy of death, for he did not hate him in time past.

7. Therefore I command you, saying,’You shall separate three cities for you.’

8. And if the LORD your God makes your border larger, as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give to your fathers;

9. If you will keep all these commandments which I command you today, to do them, to love the LORD your God, and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add to yourself three more cities to these three,

10. So that innocent blood may not be shed in your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance and guilt of bloodshed may not be on you.

11. But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes him mortally so that he dies, and flees to one of these cities,

12. Then the elders of his city shall send and bring him away from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood so that he may die.

13. Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel so that it may go well with you.

14. You may not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which those in the past have set in your inheritance, which you shall inherit in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it.

15. One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be made sure.

16. If a false witness rises up purposing to do harm against any man to accuse him of wrongdoing,

17. Then both the men who are disagreeing shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges which shall be in those days.

18. And the judges shall make careful inquiry. And behold, if the witness is a false witness and has testified falsely against his brother,

19. Then you shall do to him as he had thought to have done to his brother. So you shall put the evil away from among you.

20. And those who remain shall hear and fear, and shall not commit again any such evil among you.

21. And your eye shall not pity. Life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”