| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"When the LORD your God destroys those nations whose lands he is about to give you, you must dispossess them and live in their cities and houses. | 1When the LORD your God annihilates the nations whose land He is giving you, so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses, |
| 2You must reserve three cities within the land that the LORD your God is about to give you to possess. | 2you are to set apart three cities for yourselves within the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. |
| 3Build roads throughout the land that the LORD your God is providing as an inheritance, and then divide it into three districts so that any killer may flee there. | 3You are to determine the distances and divide the land the LORD your God is granting you as an inheritance into three regions, so that anyone who commits manslaughter can flee to these cities." |
| 4"Now this is the situation for any killer who flees there to live: suppose he strikes his friend unwittingly, not having hated him previously. | 4Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him: |
| 5For instance, he may have accompanied his friend to go to a forest to cut trees. Then he swung his axe to cut some wood, but the ax head flew off the handle and hit his friend, so that he died. The killer may flee to one of these cities to live. | 5If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings the ax to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies, that person may flee to one of these cities and live. |
| 6While the distance may be great and the angry avenger pursues the killer, he may overtake him and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend previously. | 6Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die, since he did not previously hate his neighbor. |
| 7Therefore I am commanding you to reserve three cities." | 7This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves. |
| 8"Now if the LORD enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised, | 8If the LORD your God enlarges your territory as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised to give them-- |
| 9and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk daily in his ways—then add three more cities in addition to these three cities. | 9provided you keep every one of these commands I am giving you today and follow them, loving the LORD your God and walking in His ways at all times--you are to add three more cities to these three. |
| 10You must not shed innocent blood on your land that the LORD your God is about to give you as an inheritance. Otherwise, you'll be guilty of murder." | 10In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. |
| 11"However, if a person hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and attacks him so that he dies, and then he flees to one of those cities, | 11But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, |
| 12then the elders of his own city shall send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. | 12the elders of his city must send for him, take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die. |
| 13Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you." | 13You must not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper." |
| 14"When you inherit the land that the LORD your God is about to give you, don't move your neighbor's boundary marker from where it was placed long ago." | 14You must not move your neighbor's boundary marker, established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess." |
| 15"The testimony of one person alone is not to suffice to convict anyone of any iniquity, sin, or guilt. But the matter will stand on the testimony of two or three witnesses. | 15One witness cannot establish any wrongdoing or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." |
| 16When a malicious witness takes the stand against a man and accuses him, | 16If a malicious witness testifies against someone accusing him of a crime, |
| 17then both must stand with their dispute in the LORD's presence, the priests, and the judges at that time. | 17the two people in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and judges in authority at that time. |
| 18The judges will investigate thoroughly. If the false witness lies in testifying against his relative, | 18The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, |
| 19do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst. | 19you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you. |
| 20When others hear of this, they will be afraid and will not do such an evil deed again in your midst. | 20Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you. |
| 21Your eyes must not show pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot." | 21You must not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot." |
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