Deuteronomy 19:1-10

Cities of Refuge

1 "¹When the LORD your God cuts off the nations, whose land the LORD your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses,

2 ²you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess.

3 "You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.

4 "³Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally *, not hating him previously -

5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies -he may flee to one of these cities and live;

6 otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.

7 "Therefore *, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.'

8 "If the LORD your God ⁴enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers -

9 if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, ⁵to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always * -⁶then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three.

10 "So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and ⁷bloodguiltiness be on you.

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Deuteronomy 19:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 19

This chapter contains an order to separate three cities of refuge in the land of Canaan, for such that killed a man unawares to flee to, of which those who were guilty of murder purposely were to have no benefit, De 19:1-13, a law is given against removing landmarks, De 19:14, and others concerning witnesses, that they should be more than one; be two, or three, De 19:15, and that a false witness, on conviction, should be punished, De 19:16-21.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 7

1. Deuteronomy 6:10, 11
2. Deuteronomy 4:41; Joshua 20:2
3. Numbers 35:9-34
4. Genesis 15:18
5. Deuteronomy 6:5
6. Joshua 20:7
7. Numbers 35:33; Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Footnotes 13

[a]. Lit "possess it"
[b]. Lit "road"
[c]. Lit "and it shall be for every manslayer to flee there"
[d]. Lit "smites"
[e]. Lit "without knowledge"
[f]. Lit "and he was not hating him previously"
[g]. Lit "is thrust with"
[h]. Lit "wood"
[i]. Lit "finds"
[j]. Lit "while his heart is hot"
[k]. Lit "smite him in the soul"
[l]. Lit "spoke"
[m]. Lit "keep...to do it"