Section 50 of 12019:1–13Deuteronomy

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King James VersionDeuteronomy 19:1–13

When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;

Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

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:

Lest the avenger 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.

Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

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.

But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:

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.

Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Deuteronomy 19:1–13

Refuge Distinguishes Accident from Murder

Cities, roads, and three parts make refuge reachable

After dispossession Israel is to set apart three cities in the midst of the land, prepare the way, and divide the territory into three so that a slayer may flee. If the LORD enlarges the border as promised, three more cities are to be added. Geography is part of justice: a heated avenger must not overtake an unintentional killer because the road is too long.

The axe head, and the ambush that may not hide in refuge

The protected case is a person who kills a neighbor unawares, without prior hatred. The illustration is shared woodcutting: the axe head slips from the helve and strikes. That person may flee and live.

The contrast is a man who hates his neighbor, lies in wait, and smites mortally. Elders are to fetch him from the city of refuge and deliver him to the avenger of blood. Intent, prior hatred, and ambush distinguish the cases. Refuge is not a loophole for murder, and blood revenge is not a modern mandate.

How this should shape us

Separate accident, negligence, and planned killing by evidence of intent. Give accessible protection from retaliation, keep investigating, and care for the bereaved without glorifying private vengeance or execution without due process.

Teach it back

Explain Deuteronomy 19:1–13 in your own words. Include its place in Moses' speeches or the final narrative, both movements, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one use the complete context rules out.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

Best judgment: Interpreters disagree about the composition, date, Mosaic presentation, final-form role, legal relationship, rhetoric, history, and reception of “Refuge Distinguishes Accident from Murder.” Confidence is strongest in the received unit's movement summarized here; historical and source-critical reconstructions remain probable, plausible, or uncertain as the evidence warrants.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Deuteronomy 19:1–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Deuteronomy

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech and legal clauses, poetic lines, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Deut.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 19:1–13

NET Bible: Deuteronomy with translators' notes

Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, legal, poetic, measure, name, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.

NET Bible Deuteronomy PDF, complete PDF pp. 1–111, translation and translator notes attached to 19:1–13

Deuteronomy Part 1: Law, Reform, and Historical Setting

Supports: Concise critical framing of Deuteronomy's law collection, historical setting, relationship to other Torah laws, centralization, and moral tensions.

Yale Bible Study, 'Deuteronomy Part 1,' complete two-page PDF and linked lesson sections on law, legal collections, reform, centralization, and ethics, applied to Deuteronomy 19:1–13

The Place of Deuteronomy in the Formation of the Pentateuch

Supports: A current debate map only; no unexposed chapter argument is attributed.

Schmid, Oxford Handbook chapter (2020), official abstract and six-question scope: Pentateuchal setting, reworked Tetrateuch, layers, date, covenant and treaty, and Deuteronomism

Deuteronomy: The First Torah

Supports: Mosaic speech presentation, self-referential Torah language, final-form function, and one model of earlier independent literary life.

Glatt-Gilad, 'Deuteronomy: The First Torah,' complete article sections on speeches, Torah self-reference, law differences, and Joshua-Kings reception; applied to Deuteronomy 19:1–13

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: Deuteronomy 19:1–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Deuteronomy

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech and legal clauses, poetic lines, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Deut.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 19:1–13

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Deuteronomy with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12

Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, legal, poetic, measure, name, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible Deuteronomy PDF, complete PDF pp. 1–111, translation and translator notes attached to 19:1–13

Open source ↗

modern critical open study guide

Deuteronomy Part 1: Law, Reform, and Historical Setting

Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study

Yale Divinity School, 2023 course edition

Supports: Concise critical framing of Deuteronomy's law collection, historical setting, relationship to other Torah laws, centralization, and moral tensions.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'Deuteronomy Part 1,' complete two-page PDF and linked lesson sections on law, legal collections, reform, centralization, and ethics, applied to Deuteronomy 19:1–13

Open source ↗

modern scholarly handbook chapter abstract

The Place of Deuteronomy in the Formation of the Pentateuch

Konrad Schmid

The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch, Oxford University Press, 2020

Supports: A current debate map only; no unexposed chapter argument is attributed.

Exact location: Schmid, Oxford Handbook chapter (2020), official abstract and six-question scope: Pentateuchal setting, reworked Tetrateuch, layers, date, covenant and treaty, and Deuteronomism

Open source ↗

modern jewish scholarly open composition study

Deuteronomy: The First Torah

David A. Glatt-Gilad

TheTorah.com, 2015

Supports: Mosaic speech presentation, self-referential Torah language, final-form function, and one model of earlier independent literary life.

Exact location: Glatt-Gilad, 'Deuteronomy: The First Torah,' complete article sections on speeches, Torah self-reference, law differences, and Joshua-Kings reception; applied to Deuteronomy 19:1–13

Open source ↗

Deuteronomy 19:1–13, King James Version

Cities, roads, and three parts make refuge reachable

The axe head, and the ambush that may not hide in refuge

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Deuteronomy

NET Bible: Deuteronomy with translators' notes

Deuteronomy Part 1: Law, Reform, and Historical Setting

The Place of Deuteronomy in the Formation of the Pentateuch

Deuteronomy: The First Torah