1When Adonai your God cuts off the nations, whose land Adonai your God gives you, and you succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses;

2you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the middle of your land, which Adonai your God gives you to possess it.

3¹⁶¹You shall prepare the way, and divide the borders of your land, which Adonai your God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every man slayer may flee there.

4This is the case of the man slayer who shall flee there and live. Whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn’t hate him in time past;

5as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to chop wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle, and lights on his neighbor, so that he dies, he shall flee to one of these cities and live.

6Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally; even though he was not mishpat ·judged· worthy of death, because he didn’t hate him in time past.

7Therefore I enjoin you to set apart three cities for yourselves.

8If Adonai your God enlarges your border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he promised to give to your fathers;

9if you keep all this mitzvot ·instructions· to do them, which I enjoin you today, to 'ahav ·affectionately love· Adonai your God, and to walk ever in his ways; then you shall add three cities more for yourselves, besides these three.

10This is so that innocent blood will not be shed in the middle of your land which Adonai your God gives you for an inheritance, leaving blood guilt on you.

11But if any man hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, strikes him mortally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities;

12then the elders of his city shall send and bring him there, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

13¹⁶²Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the innocent blood from Israel [God prevails], that it may go well with you. (6)

14¹⁶³You 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 Adonai your God gives you to possess.

15¹⁶⁴One witness shall not rise up against a man for any depravity (moral evil), or for any habitual sin ·missing the mark·, in any crime deserving peanlty, sin ·missing the goal· that he sins ·errs (the standard goal)·. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. ¹⁶⁵

16If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,

17¹⁶⁶then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Adonai, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;

18and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother;

19¹⁶⁷then you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother. So you shall remove the evil from among you. ¹⁶⁸

20Those who remain shall sh'ma ·hear obey·, and fear, and will never again commit any such evil among you.

21Your eyes shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, ¹⁶⁹hand for hand, foot for foot.