Deuteronomy 19:4

Green's Literal Translation

And this is the case of the manslayer who shall flee there, that he may live: whoever strikes his neighbor unawares, and has not hated him yesterday and the day before;

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
"This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past—

Update Bible Version
And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and did not hate him in time past;

English Revised Version
And this is the case of the manslayer, which shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past;

New Century Version
This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these cities in order to save his life. But the person must have killed a neighbor without meaning to, not out of hatred.

New English Translation
Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live, if he has accidentally killed another without hating him at the time of the accident.

Webster's Bible Translation
And this [is] the case of the slayer, who shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoever killeth his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

World English Bible
This is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn't hate him in time past;

Amplified Bible
"Now this is the case of the offender (manslayer) who may escape there and live [protected from vengeance]: when he kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him previously—

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This schal be the lawe of a mansleere fleynge, whos lijf schal be kept. If a man smytith vnwityngli his neiybore, and which is preuyd to haue not had ony hatered ayens hym yistirdai and the thridde dai agoon,

Young's Literal Translation
`And this [is] the matter of the man-slayer who fleeth thither, and hath lived: He who smiteth his neighbour unknowingly, and is not hating him heretofore,

Berean Standard Bible
Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

American Standard Version
And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past;

Bible in Basic English
This is to be the rule for anyone who goes in flight there, after causing the death of his neighbour in error and not through hate;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For this cause must the slayer flee thyther, that he may lyue: Who so kylleth his neighbour ignorauntly, and hated hym not in tyme passed:

Complete Jewish Bible
The killer who will live if he flees there is someone who has killed his fellow member of the community by mistake, who did not hate him in the past.

Darby Translation
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;

Easy-to-Read Version
"This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these three cities for safety: It must be someone who killed another person accidentally, not out of hatred.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past;

King James Version (1611)
And this is the case of the slayer which shall flee thither, that hee may liue: who so killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past,

New Life Bible
"This is the law of the person who kills another and runs to a city to save his life. He might have killed his friend without meaning to, a friend he did not hate in the past.

New Revised Standard
Now this is the case of a homicide who might flee there and live, that is, someone who has killed another person unintentionally when the two had not been at enmity before:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, this, is the case of the manslayer, who shall flee thither and live, - Whoso shall smite his neighbour unwittingly, he, not having hated him aforetime;

Geneva Bible (1587)
This also is ye cause wherfore the manslaier shal flee thither, and liue: who so killeth his neighbor ignorantly, and hated him not in time passed:

George Lamsa Translation
And this is the law in the case of the slayer who kills his neighbor and flees there that he may live, whosoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, whom he hated not in time past;

Good News Translation
If you accidentally kill someone who is not your enemy, you may escape to any of these cities and be safe.

Douay-Rheims Bible
This shall be the law of the slayer that fleeth, whose life is to be saved: He that killeth his neighbor ignorantly, and who is proved to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before:

Revised Standard Version
"This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If any one kills his neighbor unintentionally without having been at enmity with him in time past--

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee thither, and shall live, whosoever shall have smitten his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.

Christian Standard Bible®
“Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him:

Hebrew Names Version
This is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn't hate him in time past;

King James Version
And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

Lexham English Bible
"Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor unintentionally, and he did not hate him previously.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And this shalbe the cause, that whosoeuer hath committed a slaughter, maye flye thyther, and lyue.

THE MESSAGE
This is the guideline for the murderer who flees there to take refuge: He has to have killed his neighbor without premeditation and with no history of bad blood between them. For instance, a man goes with his neighbor into the woods to cut a tree; he swings the ax, the head slips off the handle and hits his neighbor, killing him. He may then flee to one of these cities and save his life. If the city is too far away, the avenger of blood racing in hot-blooded pursuit might catch him since it's such a long distance, and kill him even though he didn't deserve it. It wasn't his fault. There was no history of hatred between them. Therefore I command you: Set aside the three cities for yourselves.

New American Standard Bible
"Now this is the case of the one who commits manslaughter, who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously—

New King James Version
"And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past--

New Living Translation
"If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously—

Legacy Standard Bible
"Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he strikes down his friend without premeditation, not hating him previously—

Contextual Overview

¹ When Jehovah your God shall cut off the nations whose land Jehovah your God is giving to you, and when you dispossess them, and live in their cities, and in their houses, ² you shall separate three cities for you in the midst of your land, which Jehovah your God is giving you to possess it. ³ You shall prepare the way for yourself, and shall divide into three parts the border of your land which Jehovah your God shall cause you to inherit, so that every manslayer may flee there. ⁴ And this is the case of the manslayer who shall flee there, that he may live: whoever strikes his neighbor unawares, and has not hated him yesterday and the day before; ⁵ even he who goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand brings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips from the wood and finds his neighbor so that he dies; he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall live; ⁶ that the avenger of blood not pursue the manslayer when his heart is hot, and shall overtake him because the way is long, and shall strike him so as to die, and he had no sentence of death, for he did not hate him yesterday or the day before. ⁷ On account of this I am commanding you, saying, You shall separate to yourself three cities. ⁸ And if Jehovah your God shall enlarge your border, as He has sworn to your fathers, and shall give to you all the land which He has spoken to give to your fathers, ⁹ if you will keep these commandments which I am commanding you today, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in His ways forever, then you shall add to yourself another three cities to these three. ¹⁰ And innocent blood shall not be shed in the midst of your land, which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance, and there be blood on you.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the slayer: Deuteronomy 4:42, Numbers 35:15-24

in time past: Heb. from yesterday the third day, Deuteronomy 19:6, Genesis 31:2, Joshua 3:4, 1 Chronicles 11:2, Isaiah 30:33, *marg.

Reciprocal: Exodus 21:13 - lie not Leviticus 4:2 - through Numbers 35:11 - unawares Deuteronomy 17:8 - between blood 2 Samuel 14:11 - the revengers 2 Kings 13:5 - beforetime Philippians 3:9 - be

Cross-References

Genesis 13:13
And the men of Sodom were evil and sinners before Jehovah, exceedingly so.

Genesis 18:20
And Jehovah said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is exceedingly heavy.

Genesis 19:1
And the two angels came into Sodom at evening. And Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw, and he rose up to meet them and bowed his face to the earth.

Genesis 19:6
And Lot went out to them, to the door, and he closed the door behind him.

Genesis 19:20
Please, now, this city is near, to flee there, and it is a little one. Please let me escape there! Is it not a little thing, that my soul may live?

Genesis 19:25
And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all those living in the cities, and the produce of the ground.

Exodus 16:2
And all the congregation of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness.

Exodus 23:2
You shall not run after many to gain evil things. And you shall not testify as to a lawsuit, to turn aside after many in order to pervert justice .

Proverbs 4:16
For they do not sleep if they have done no evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall.

Proverbs 6:18
a heart that plots evil plans, feet hurrying to run to mischief,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live,.... It was not any slayer that might have protection in these cities, but such who were thus and thus circumstanced, or whose case was as follows:

whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly; without intention, as the Targum of Jonathan, did not design it, but was done by him unawares:

whom he hated not in time past; had never shown by words or deeds that he had any hatred of him or enmity to him three days ago; so that if there were no marks of hatred, or proofs of it three days before this happened, it was reckoned an accidental thing, and not done on purpose, as this phrase is usually interpreted; see Exodus 21:29.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This and the next two chapters contain enactments designed to protect human life, and to impress its sanctity on Israel.

In Deuteronomy 19:1-13 the directions respecting the preparation of the roads to the cities of refuge, the provision of additional cities in case of an extension of territory, and the intervention of the elders as representing the congregation, are unique to Deuteronomy and supplementary to the laws on the same subject given in the earlier books (compare the marginal reference).

Deuteronomy 19:1, Deuteronomy 19:2

The three cities of refuge for the district east of Jordan had been already named. Moses now directs that when the territory on the west of Jordan had been conquered, a like allotment of three other cities in it should be made. This was accordingly done; compare Joshua 20:1 ff,

Deuteronomy 19:3

Thou shalt prepare thee a way - It was the duty of the Senate to repair the roads that led to the cities of refuge annually, and remove every obstruction. No hillock was left, no river over which there was not a bridge; and the road was at least 32 cubits broad. At cross-roads there were posts bearing the words Refuge, Refuge, to guide the fugitive in his flight. It seems as if in Isaiah 40:3 ff the imagery were borrowed from the preparation of the ways to the cities of refuge.

Deuteronomy 19:5

With the axe - literally, “with the iron.” Note the employment of iron for tools, and compare Deuteronomy 3:11 note.

Deuteronomy 19:8, Deuteronomy 19:9

Provision is here made for the anticipated enlargement of the borders of Israel to the utmost limits promised by God, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18, note; Exodus 23:31, note). This promise, owing to the sins of the people, did not receive its fulfillment until after David had conquered the Philistines, Syrians, etc.; and this but a transient one, for many of the conquered peoples regained independence on the dissolution of Solomon’s empire.