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Three Cities of Refuge
“When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,
“When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,
Cities of Refuge
“When the LORD your God destroys the nations whose land he is giving you, you will take over their land and settle in their towns and homes.
“When the LORD your God destroys the nations whose land he is giving you, you will take over their land and settle in their towns and homes.
you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.
“If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety.
as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies — he shall flee to one of these cities and live;
For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax to chop down a tree, and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.
lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past.
“If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. Then the slayer would die unfairly, since he had never shown hostility toward the person who died.
Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’
That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge.
“Now if the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers,
“And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised them,
and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three,
you must designate three additional cities of refuge. (He will give you this land if you are careful to obey all the commands I have given you — if you always love the LORD your God and walk in his ways.)
lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people.
“But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities,
“But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge.
then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death.
Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you.
Property Boundaries
“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Concern for Justice
“When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone’s land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property.
The Law Concerning Witnesses
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
“You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,
“If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime,
then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.
then both the accuser and accused must appear before the LORD by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time.
And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,
The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite,
then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you.
And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.
Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing.