1  When YHWH thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land the YHWH thy God giveth thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses;

1  And when the Lord thy God shall have destroyed the nations, which God gives thee, even the land, and ye shall inherit them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,

1  “When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to you, and when you possess it and live in its cities and buildings,

2  thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which YHWH thy GOD giveth thee to possess it.

2  you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession,

2  You shall set apart for you three cities in the midst of your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

3  Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which YHWH thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither.

3  paving the road carefully. And you shall divide the entire province of your land equally into three parts, so that he who is forced to flee because of manslaughter may have a place nearby to which he may be able to escape.

4  And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past;

4  And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee thither, and shall live, whosoever shall have smitten his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.

4  This shall be the law of the killer who flees, whose life is to be saved. Whoever strikes down his neighbor unwillingly, and who has been proven to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before,

5  as 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;

5  And whosoever shall enter with his neighbour into the thicket, to gather wood, if the hand of him that cuts wood with the axe should be violently shaken, and the axe head falling off from the handle should light on his neighbour, and he should die, he shall flee to one of these cities, and live.

5  such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live.

6  lest 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 deserving of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.

6  Otherwise, perhaps the near relative of him whose blood was shed, impelled by his grief, might pursue and apprehend him, unless the way is too long, and he might strike down the life of him who is not guilty unto death, since he had demonstrated that he had no prior hatred against him who was slain.

7  Wherefore I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.'

7  Therefore I charge thee, saying, Thou shalt separate for thy self three cities.

7  For this reason, I instruct you to separate three cities at equal distance from one another.

8  And if YHWH 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--

8  And if the Lord shall enlarge thy borders, as he sware to thy fathers, and the Lord shall give to thee all the land which he said he would give to thy fathers;

8  And when the Lord your God will have enlarged your borders, just as he swore to your fathers, and when he will have given to you all the land that he has promised to them,

9  if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love YHWH thy God, and to walk ever in His ways--then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three;

9  (but this is only so if you will keep his commandments and do the things which I instruct to you this day, so that you love the Lord your God, and walk in his ways at all times) you shall add for yourselves three other cities, and so you shall double the number of the three cities stated above.

9  If you shall keep all these commandments to do them, which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in his ways always; then you shall add three cities more for you besides these three;

10  that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which YHWH thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

10  So innocent blood shall not be spilt in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, and there shall not be in thee one guilty of blood.

10  So may innocent blood not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord your God will give you to possess, lest you be guilty of blood.

11  But 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;

11  But if there should be in thee a man hating his neighbour, and he should lay wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him, that he die, and he should flee to one of these cities,

11  But if anyone, having hatred for his neighbor, will have lain in ambush for his life, and, rising up, will have struck him, and he will have died, and if he will have fled to one of the cities stated above,

12  then 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.

12  the elders of his city shall send, and they shall take him from the place of refuge, and they shall deliver him into the hand of the relative of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.

13  Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

13  You shall not take pity on him, and so shall you take away the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may be well with you.

13  Your eyes shall not pity him, but you shall kill him, and thus purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

14  Thou 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 YHWH thy God giveth thee to possess it.

14  You shall not take up or move the landmark of your neighbor, which those before you have placed, in your possession that the Lord your God will give to you, in the land you will receive to possess.

14  You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in your inheritance, which you shall inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.

15  One 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 establishment

15  One witness shall not stand against another, no matter what the sin or outrage may be. For every word shall stand by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

15  A single witness shall not rise up against a man for any offense, or for any crime, in whatever offense or crime he may commit; on the testimony of two witnesses, or on the testimony of three witnesses, shall a charge be established.

16  If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to bear perverted witness against him;

16  And if a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;

17  then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before YHWH, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days.

17  then shall the two men between whom the controversy is, stand before the Lord, and before the priests, and before the judges, who may be in those days.

17  both of those whose case it is shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges who shall be in those days.

18  And the judges shall inquire diligently; and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

18  And the judges shall make diligent inquiry, and, behold, if and unjust witness has borne unjust testimony; and has stood up against his brother;

18  And when, after a very diligent examination, they will have found that the false witness had told a lie against his brother,

19  then shall ye do unto him, as he had purposed to do unto his brother; so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

20  And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee.

20  Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.

21  And thine eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

21  You shall not take pity on him. Instead, you shall require a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.”