¶ When the LORD thy God hath cut¹ off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest² them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;

Thou shalt separate three cities³ for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

⁴Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

And this is the case of the slayer⁵, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past⁶;

As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head⁷ slippeth from the helve⁸, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:

Lest the avenger⁹ of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him¹⁰; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past¹¹.

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

¹²And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

If thou shalt¹³ keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou¹⁴ add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

¶¹⁵That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

But if any¹⁶ man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally¹⁷ that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:

¹⁸Then 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.

Thine eye¹⁹ shall not pity him, but thou²⁰ shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

¶ Thou shalt not remove²¹ 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.

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth²² of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

If a false witness²³ rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong²⁴;

²⁵Then 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;

And the judges shall make diligent²⁶ inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

Then shall²⁷ ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt²⁸ thou put the evil away from among you.

¶²⁹And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

And thine eye³⁰ shall not pity; but life shall³¹ go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.