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Deuteronomy 19:3-5
New English Translation
Deuteronomy 19:3-5
New English Translation
3 You shall build a roadway and divide into thirds the whole extent[a] of your land that the Lord your God is providing as your inheritance; anyone who kills another person should flee to the closest of these cities. 4 Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live,[b] if he has accidentally killed another[c] without hating him at the time of the accident.[d] 5 Suppose he goes with someone else[e] to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the ax[f] to cut the tree, the ax head flies loose[g] from the handle and strikes[h] his fellow worker[i] so hard that he dies. The person responsible[j] may then flee to one of these cities to save himself.[k]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:3 tn Heb “border.”
- Deuteronomy 19:4 tn Heb “and this is the word pertaining to the one who kills who flees there and lives.”
- Deuteronomy 19:4 tn Heb “who strikes his neighbor without knowledge.”
- Deuteronomy 19:4 tn Heb “yesterday and a third (day)” (likewise in v. 6). The point is that there was no animosity between the two parties at the time of the accident and therefore no motive for the killing. Cf. NAB “had previously borne no malice”; NRSV “had not been at enmity before.”
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “his neighbor” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “his friend.”
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “and he raises his hand with the iron.”
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “the iron slips off.”
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “finds.”
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person responsible for his friend’s death) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “and live.”
Deuteronomy 19:3-5
New International Version
Deuteronomy 19:3-5
New International Version
3 Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.
4 This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life.
New English Translation (NET)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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