| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; | 1“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. |
| 2Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. | 2Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you. |
| 3Thou 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. | 3Survey the territory, and divide the land the LORD your God is giving you into three districts, with one of these cities in each district. Then anyone who has killed someone can flee to one of the cities of refuge for safety. |
| 4And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; | 4“If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety. |
| 5As 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 head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: | 5For 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. |
| 6Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. | 6“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. |
| 7Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. | 7That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge. |
| 8And 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; | 8“And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised them, |
| 9If thou shalt 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 thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: | 9you 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.) |
| 10That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. | 10That 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. |
| 11But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: | 11“But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge. |
| 12Then 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. | 12In 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. |
| 13Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. | 13Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you. Concern for Justice |
| 14Thou shalt not remove 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. | 14“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. |
| 15One 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 the matter be established. | 15“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. |
| 16If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; | 16“If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, |
| 17Then 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; | 17then both the accuser and accused must appear before the LORD by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time. |
| 18And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; | 18The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, |
| 19Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. | 19you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. |
| 20And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. | 20Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. |
| 21And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. | 21You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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