| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1“When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, | 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. |
| 2you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess. | 2You must reserve three cities within the land that the LORD your God is about to give you to possess. |
| 3You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there. | 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. |
| 4“And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past— | 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. |
| 5as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live; | 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. |
| 6lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. | 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. |
| 7Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’ | 7Therefore I am commanding you to reserve three cities." |
| 8“Now if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, | 8"Now if the LORD enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised, |
| 9and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, | 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. |
| 10lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you. | 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." |
| 11“But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, | 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, |
| 12then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. | 12then the elders of his own city shall send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. |
| 13Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you. | 13Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you." |
| 14“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess. | 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." |
| 15“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. | 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. |
| 16If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, | 16When a malicious witness takes the stand against a man and accuses him, |
| 17then both men in the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. | 17then both must stand with their dispute in the LORD's presence, the priests, and the judges at that time. |
| 18And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, | 18The judges will investigate thoroughly. If the false witness lies in testifying against his relative, |
| 19then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. | 19do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst. |
| 20And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. | 20When others hear of this, they will be afraid and will not do such an evil deed again in your midst. |
| 21Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. | 21Your eyes must not show pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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