19 When your god Yahweh destroys those peoples where he’s giving you the land, and you occupy the land and live in their cities and houses, 2 you must select three cities[ref] spread across the land that Yahweh is giving you. 3 You must define three borders and build roads in the land that your god Yahweh is giving you to inherit. Anyone who kills another person can then flee to one of those cities. 4 This is the rule for someone who’s killed another person and flees to live there: if they’ve accidentally killed another person and had no hate for that person from past events, 5 (for example, if two men went into the forest to chop wood and an axehead flew off its handle and killed the other man) then that accidental killer can flee to one of those cities and live there. 6 Otherwise a friend or relative of the dead person might chase the killer in a sudden rage and overtake and kill the accidental killer if the city was too far away. However, the killer doesn’t deserve death if they hadn’t hated that person from past events—7 that’s why I’m ordering you to select three cities for this.

8 Then in the future, if your god Yahweh extends your territory as he promised your ancestors that he would do, and gives you all the land that he told them about, 9 and if you’re still following all these instructions that I’m giving you today (loving your god Yahweh and always obeying what he’s said), then you’ll need to add three more refuge cities for your country. 10 That’s so innocent people won’t be killed in the land that your god Yahweh is giving you, and so that you won’t be found guilty of the murder of that accidental killer.

11 However, if someone hates another person and then ambushes them and kills them, and then flees to one of those cities, 12 then the elders from their home town should go and get that person from the refuge city and hand that killer over to the relatives handling the case, and the murderer must be executed. 13 You must show no mercy to murderers but they must be executed so that the country isn’t responsible for the blood of innocent people, and then things will go well for you.