the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Updated Bible Version
Deuteronomy 19
1 When Yahweh your God shall cut off the nations, whose land Yahweh your God gives you, and you succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses;2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.3 You shall prepare for yourself the way, and divide the borders of your land, which Yahweh your God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee there.4 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;5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle, and hits his neighbor, so that he dies; he shall flee to one of these cities and live:6 or else if the avenger of blood pursues the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtakes him, because the way is long, and smites him mortally; whereas he wasn't worthy of death, inasmuch as he did not hate him in time past.7 Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for yourself.8 And if Yahweh your God enlarges your border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he promised to give to your fathers;9 if you shall keep all [of] this commandment to do it, which I command you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to walk ever in his ways; then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three:10 that innocent blood shall not be shed in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, and so blood will be on you.11 But if any man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and rises up against him, and smites him mortally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities;12 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.13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.
14 You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit, in the land that Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.16 If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrong-doing,17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days;18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and see if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother;19 then you shall do to him, as he had thought to do to his brother: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall from now on commit no more of any such evil in the midst of you.21 And your eyes shall not pity; life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Updated Bible Version
Scripture quotations are from the UPDV® Updated Bible Version 1.9, Copyright © 2003-4 by Updated Publishers. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.