Deuteronomy 19:4

This is the law for the one who kills another and who flees there to live—anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, and did not previously hate him.

Unlocked Literal Bible

In The King James Version

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;

In Context

3You must build a road and divide the borders of your land into three parts, the land that Yahweh your God is causing you to inherit, so that everyone who kills another person may flee there.

5For example, if a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his chops with the ax to cut down a tree, and the ax head slips off of the handle and strikes his neighbor and kills him—then that man must flee to one of these cities and save his life.

Read all of Deuteronomy 19

Cross References

Genesis 31:2Jacob saw the look on Laban's face. He saw that his attitude toward him had changed.

Deuteronomy 4:42so that anyone might flee to one of them if he killed another person accidentally, without being his enemy previously. By fleeing to one of these cities, he might survive.

Joshua 3:4There must be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits. Do not come close to it, so that you can see which way to go, since you have not gone this way before.”

Isaiah 30:33For a place of burning was prepared long ago. Indeed, it is prepared for the king, and God has made it deep and wide. 1 The pile is ready with a fire and much wood. 1 The breath of Yahweh, like a stream of brimstone, will set it on fire.

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 19:2-14

The Cities of Refuge. ( b. c. 1451.) 1 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; 2 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. 3 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. 4 And this is the case of… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Deuteronomy 19:4