Deuteronomy 19-20

Darby Translation

19 When Jehovah thy God hath cut off the nations whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou hast dispossessed them, and dwellest in their cities and in their houses,

² thou shalt separate three cities for thyself in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess.

³ Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the territory of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, so that every slayer may flee thither.

⁴ And this is the case of the slayer who shall flee thither that he may live: he that smiteth his neighbour unwittingly, whom he hated not previously;

⁵ as when he 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 iron slippeth from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; such an one shall flee unto one of these cities, and live;

⁶ 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, since he hated him not previously.

⁷ Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thyself.

⁸ 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

⁹ (if thou keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk in his ways continually), then shalt thou add three cities more for thyself to these three,

¹⁰ that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and blood come not upon thee.

¹¹ But if a man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and he flee into one of these cities,

¹² 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.

¹³ Thine eye shall not spare him; and thou shalt put away innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with thee.

¹⁴ Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have fixed in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess.

¹⁵ One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, and 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.

¹⁶ If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of an offence;

¹⁷ 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;

¹⁸ and the judges shall make thorough inquiry; and if the witness be a false witness, and he have testified falsely against his brother,

¹⁹ then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.

²⁰ And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in thy midst.

²¹ And thine eye shall not spare: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

20 When thou goest out to war against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, [and] a people more numerous than thou, thou shalt not fear them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

² And it shall be, when ye approach unto the battle, that the priest shall draw near and speak unto the people,

³ and shall say unto them, Hear, Israel, ye are approaching this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be afraid of them;

⁴ for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

⁵ And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

⁶ And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not eaten of it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.

⁷ And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

⁸ And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and shall say, What man is there that is timid and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as well as his heart.

⁹ And it shall be, when the officers have ended speaking unto the people, that they shall place captains of the hosts at the head of the people.

¹⁰ When thou approachest unto a city to fight against it, thou shalt proclaim peace unto it.

¹¹ And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

¹² And if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then thou shalt besiege it;

¹³ and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

¹⁴ only the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that shall be in the city, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as booty for thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee

¹⁵ Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

¹⁶ But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth,

¹⁷ but shalt utterly devote them to destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;

¹⁸ that they teach you not to do according to all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, so that ye sin against Jehovah your God.

¹⁹ When thou shalt besiege a city many days, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by lifting up an axe against them; for thou canst eat of them; and thou shalt not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man that it should be besieged?

²⁰ Only the trees which thou knowest are not trees for meat, thou mayest destroy and cut them down, and build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it fall.