Deuteronomy 19:11-21

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.

13 Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, {so that good will be directed toward you}.

14 "You shall not move the boundary [marker] of your neighbor that {former generations} set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you to take possession of it.

15 {The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict} [with respect to] any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person committed; on the {evidence} of two witnesses or on the {evidence} of three witnesses {a charge shall be sustained}.

16 If {a malicious witness} gets up {to accuse} anyone to testify against him falsely,

17 then the two men {to whom the legal dispute pertains} shall stand {before} Yahweh, {before} the priests and the judges who are [in office] in those days.

18 Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and [if] it turns out that the witness is a false witness [and] he testified falsely against his brother,

19 then you shall do to him as he meant to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

20 {And the rest} shall hear and shall fear, and {they shall not continue to do such a thing again} as this evil thing in your midst.

21 {You must show no pity}: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Deuteronomy 19:11-21 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "[is] hating"
• [b]. Or "gets up"
• [c]. Literally "and strikes him mortally [with regard to his life] and he dies"
• [d]. Literally "and good shall be for you" or "it shall be good for you"
• [e]. Literally "the first settlers/ancestors"
• [f]. Literally "Not shall get up [only] a single witness against a man"
• [g]. Hebrew "he"
• [h]. Literally "mouth"
• [i]. Literally "mouth"
• [j]. Literally "shall be established a case/charge"
• [k]. Literally "a witness of violence"
• [l]. Literally "against"
• [m]. Literally "who for them [are] the legal dispute"
• [n]. Literally "to the face of"
• [o]. Literally "to the face of"
• [p]. Or "in fact"
• [q]. Or "planned"
• [r]. Literally "and those remaining"
• [s]. Literally "and they shall not do again to do again"
• [t]. Literally "And not take pity your eye"