Old Testament Commentary - Deuteronomy 19

by Don R. Hender


Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
             CHAPTER 19            

Cities of refuge appointed for cases of manslaughter—Murderers shall be put to death—Two or three witnesses required in court cases—False witnesses punished.

  1 WHEN the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and athou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
  2 Thou shalt aseparate three bcities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
  3 Thou shalt prepare thee aa way, and divide the bcoasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may cflee thither.
  4 ¶ And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour aignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;
  5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
  6 Lest the aavenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
  7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.
  8 And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy acoast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;
  9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to awalk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:
  10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
  11 ¶ But if any man hate his aneighbour, and blie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:
  12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
  13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt aput away the bguilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
  14 ¶ Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's alandmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
  15 ¶ One awitness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two bwitnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
  16 ¶ If a afalse witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;
  17 Then both the men, between whom the acontroversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
  18 And the ajudges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
  19 Then shall ye ado unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brothera: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
 19a do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother The penalty for bearing a false witness was of no small consequence. It is essential for a court system to assure that the witnesses of the court are truthful. It may seem a hard penalty to punish the 'liar' with that punishment of a murderer, but in the case of bearing a false witness against another, if the intent was to have the other so convicted of murder wrongly, and thus the other were to be put to death due to that false witness, then it is just that he who intended death upon his brother falsely ought to be so punished himself. Many more would certainly be much more careful about their testimony witnesses if this were the law today.
  20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
  21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, aeye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.