Deuteronomy 19:10

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

Deuteronomy 19:10 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 19:10

That innocent blood be not shed
As it would be if such a slayer as before described was killed by the avenger of blood, before he could get to one of these cities of refuge, or supposing that they had not bean appointed, or a sufficient number of them:

which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance;
to be enjoyed by them and their children after them, provided they did not defile it by their sins, but observed the commands of the Lord to obey them and

so blood be upon thee;
the guilt of innocent blood crying for vengeance, as would be the case if such a man's blood was shed as before described; it seems as if the guilt would rather affect the whole land, for not having a proper provision of "asylums" for such persons, than the avenger of blood.

Deuteronomy 19:10 In-Context

8 Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory [just] as he swore to your ancestors and gives to you all the land that he {promised} to give to your ancestors,

9 [then] {if you diligently observe this entire commandment} that I [am] commanding you {today} by loving Yahweh your God and by going in his ways {at all times}, then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three.

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

11 But if someone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him {and murders him}, and [the murderer] flees to one of these cities,

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "is not shed"
• [b]. Hebrew "shall be on you," but conditional sense of imperfect is clear