¹ “When Yahweh your God has ⌞exterminated⌟¹ the nations concerning whom Yahweh your God is giving to you their land, and you have dispossessed them, and you have settled in their towns and in their houses,

1. Literally “cut off”

² you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it.

³ You shall prepare the roads¹ for yourselves, and you shall divide the regions of your land into thirds that Yahweh your God gives you as a possession, so that ⌞it will be available for any manslayer to flee there⌟.²

1. Hebrew “road”
2. Literally “it shall be to flee there all/anyone killing”

⁴ “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor ⌞unintentionally⌟,¹ and he did not hate him ⌞previously⌟.²

1. Literally “with no knowledge”
2. Literally “from yesterday and the day before”

⁵ ⌞For example⌟,¹ when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron head slips from the handle of the tool and strikes his neighbor and he dies, then he may flee to one of these cities, and so he may live.

1. Literally “And as”

⁶ He does this lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because ⌞he is hot with anger⌟¹ and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance to the city of refuge, and so ⌞he kills him⌟,² but ⌞he did not deserve a death sentence⌟,³ because he was not hating him ⌞before⌟.⁴

1. Literally “is hot his heart”
2. Literally “he strikes him down as to his life/soul”
3. Literally “for him there was not a judgment of death”
4. Literally “from yesterday and the day before”

⁷ Therefore I am commanding you, ⌞saying⌟,¹ ‘You shall set apart three cities.’

1. Literally “to say”

⁸ Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he swore to your ancestors¹ and gives² to you all the land that he ⌞promised⌟³ to give to your ancestors,⁴

1. Or “fathers”
2. Hebrew “will give”
3. Literally “spoke”
4. Or “fathers”

⁹ then ⌞if you diligently observe this entire commandment⌟¹ that I am commanding you ⌞today⌟² by loving Yahweh your God and by going³ in his ways ⌞at all times⌟,⁴ then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three.

1. Literally “if you observe all of the commandment the this to do it”
2. Literally “the day”
3. Or “walking”
4. Literally “all of the days”

¹⁰ Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed¹ in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance and thereby bloodguilt would be on you.²

1. Hebrew “is not shed”
2. Hebrew “shall be on you,” but conditional sense of imperfect is clear

¹¹ But if someone hates¹ his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up² against him ⌞and murders him⌟,³ and the murderer flees to one of these cities,

1. Hebrew “is hating”
2. Or “gets up”
3. Literally “and strikes him mortally with regard to his life and he dies”

¹² then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death.

¹³ Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, ⌞so that good will be directed toward you⌟.¹

1. Literally “and good shall be for you” or “it shall be good for you”

¹⁴ “You shall not move the boundary marker of your neighbor that ⌞former generations⌟¹ set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it.

1. Literally “the first settlers/ancestors”

¹⁵ ⌞The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict⌟¹ with respect to any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person² committed; on the ⌞evidence⌟³ of two witnesses or on the ⌞evidence⌟⁴ of three witnesses ⌞a charge shall be sustained⌟.⁵

1. Literally “Not shall get up only a single witness against a man”
2. Hebrew “he”
3. Literally “mouth”
4. Literally “mouth”
5. Literally “shall be established a case/charge”

¹⁶ If ⌞a malicious witness⌟¹ gets up ⌞to accuse⌟² anyone to testify against him falsely,

1. Literally “a witness of violence”
2. Literally “against”

¹⁷ then the two men ⌞to whom the legal dispute pertains⌟¹ shall stand ⌞before⌟² Yahweh, ⌞before⌟³ the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.

1. Literally “who for them are the legal dispute”
2. Literally “to the face of”
3. Literally “to the face of”

¹⁸ Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and if it turns out¹ that the witness is a false witness and he testified falsely against his brother,

1. Or “in fact”

¹⁹ then you shall do to him as he meant¹ to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

1. Or “planned”

²⁰ ⌞And the rest⌟¹ shall hear and shall fear, and ⌞they shall not continue to do such a thing again⌟² as this evil thing in your midst.

1. Literally “and those remaining”
2. Literally “and they shall not do again to do again”

²¹ ⌞You must show no pity⌟:¹ life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

1. Literally “And not take pity your eye”