Deuteronomy 19 · Parashat Shoftim

When the Lord thy God has cut off the nations, whose land the Lord thy God gives thee, and thou hast driven them out, and dost dwell in their cities, and in their houses;

thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to possess it.

Thou shalt prepare the way, and divide the border of thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

And this is the case of the slayer, who shall flee there, that he may live: whoever unwittingly kills his neighbour, whom he hated not in time past;

as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle, and strikes his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee to one of those cities, and live:

lest the avenger of blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; though he was not worthy of death, since he hated him not in time past.

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

And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy border, as he has sworn to thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give to thy fathers;

if 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:

that innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

But 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 then flees into one of these cities:

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

Thy eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Yisra᾽el, that it may go well with thee.

Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thy inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God gives thee to possess it.

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he may commit: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;

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

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

then shall you do to him, as he had thought to have done to his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

And those who remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

And thy eye shall not pity; but life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.