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New Living Translation |   | |
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| | Deu 19:1 | "The LORD your God will soon destroy the nations whose land he is giving you, and you will displace them and settle in their towns and homes.
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| | Deu 19:2 | Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you to occupy.
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| | Deu 19:3 | Divide the land the LORD your God is giving you into three districts, with one of these cities in each district. Keep the roads to these cities in good repair so that anyone who has killed someone can flee there for safety.
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| | Deu 19:4 | "If someone accidentally kills a neighbor without harboring any previous hatred, the slayer may flee to any of these cities and be safe.
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| | Deu 19:5 | For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer could flee to one of the cities of refuge and be safe.
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| | Deu 19:6 | If the distance to the nearest city of refuge was too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. The slayer would die, even though there was no death sentence and the first death had been an accident.
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| | Deu 19:7 | That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge.
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| | Deu 19:8 | "If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he solemnly promised your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised them,
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| | Deu 19:9 | you must designate three additional cities of refuge. (He will give you this land if you obey all the commands I have given you--if you always love the LORD your God and walk in his ways.)
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| | Deu 19:10 | That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, and you will not be held responsible for murder.
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| | Deu 19:11 | "But suppose someone hates a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders that neighbor and then escapes to one of the cities of refuge.
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| | Deu 19:12 | In that case, the leaders of the murderer's hometown must have the murderer brought back from the city of refuge and handed over to the dead person's avenger to be killed.
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| | Deu 19:13 | Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge the guilt of murder from Israel so all may go well with you.
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| | Deu 19:14 | "When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, never steal someone's land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property.
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| | Deu 19:15 | "Never convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of just one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
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| | Deu 19:16 | If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime,
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| | Deu 19:17 | then both the accuser and accused must appear before the priests and judges who are on duty before the LORD.
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| | Deu 19:18 | They must be closely questioned, and if the accuser is found to be lying,
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| | Deu 19:19 | the accuser will receive the punishment intended for the accused. In this way, you will cleanse such evil from among you.
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| | Deu 19:20 | Those who hear about it will be afraid to do such an evil thing again.
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| | Deu 19:21 | You must never show pity! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
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