When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
thou shalt set apart three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it.
Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which Jehovah thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither.
And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past;
as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the {Hebrew: iron.}head slippeth from {Or, the tree}the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, so that he dieth; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live:
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 worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee.
And if Jehovah 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;
if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three:
that {Or, the blood of an innocent man}innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally so that he dieth, and he flee into one of these cities;
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.
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away {Or, the blood of the innocent}the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that Jehovah 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 mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of {Or, rebellion See chapter 13:5}wrong-doing,
then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days;
and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother;
then 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.
And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee.
And thine eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Querverweise zu 5. Mose 19,4 5Mo 19,4
that the manslayer might flee thither, that slayeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
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 worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that every one that killeth any person {Or, through error}unwittingly may flee thither.
But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death: when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death.
And if he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
or in enmity smote him with his hand, so that he died; he that smote him shall surely be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him.
But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him anything without lying in wait,
or with any stone, whereby a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm;
then the congregation shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances;
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.
Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
In times past, even when Saul was king, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and Jehovah thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be {Or, leader}prince over my people Israel.
For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.