Safe Towns
(Numbers 35.9-28Joshua 20.1-9)Moses said to Israel:
1 Soon you will go into the land and attack the nations. The Lord your God will destroy them and give you their lands, towns, and homes. Then after you are settled, 2-4 you must choose three of your towns to be Safe Towns. Divide the land into three regions with one Safe Town near the middle of each, so that a Safe Town can be easily reached from anywhere in your land.
Then, if one of you accidentally kills someone, you can run to a Safe Town and find protection from being put to death. But you must not have been angry with the person you killed.
5 For example, suppose you and a friend go into the forest to cut wood. You are chopping down a tree with an ax, when the ax head slips off the handle, hits your friend, and kills him. You can run to one of the Safe Towns and save your life. 6 You don't deserve to die, since you did not mean to harm your friend. But he did get killed, and his relatives might be very angry. They might even choose one of the men from their family to track you down and kill you. If it is too far to one of the Safe Towns, the victim's relative might be able to catch you and kill you. 7 That's why I said there must be three Safe Towns.
8-9 Israel, the Lord your God has promised that if you obey his laws and teachings I'm giving you, and if you always love him, then he will give you the land he promised your ancestors. When that happens, you must name three more Safe Towns in the new territory. 10 You will need them, so innocent people won't be killed on your land while they are trying to reach a Safe Town that is too far away. You will be guilty of murder, if innocent people lose their lives because you didn't name enough Safe Towns in the land the Lord your God will give you.
11 But what if you really do commit murder? Suppose one of you hates a neighbor. So you wait in a deserted place, kill the neighbor, and run to a Safe Town. 12 If that happens, the leaders of your town must send messengers to bring you back from the Safe Town. They will hand you over to one of the victim's relatives, who will put you to death.
13 Israel, for the good of the whole country, you must kill anyone who murders an innocent person. Never show mercy to a murderer!
Property Lines
Moses said to Israel:
14 In the land the Lord is giving you, there are already stones set up to mark the property lines between fields. So don't move those stones.
Witnesses Must Tell the Truth
Moses said to Israel:
15 Before you are convicted of a crime, at least two witnesses must be able to testify that you did it.
16 If you accuse someone of a crime, but seem to be lying, 17-18 then both you and the accused must be taken to the court at the place where the Lord is worshiped. There the priests and judges will find out if you are lying or telling the truth.
If you are lying and the accused is innocent, 19-21 then you will be punished without mercy. You will receive the same punishment the accused would have received if found guilty, whether it means losing an eye, a tooth, a hand, a foot, or even your life.
Israel, the crime of telling lies in court must be punished. And when people hear what happens to witnesses that lie, everyone else who testifies in court will tell the truth.
Patvēruma pilsētas
(4Moz 35:9–28Joz 20:1–9)1 Kad Kungs, tavs Dievs, iznīdēs tautas, kuru zemi Kungs, tavs Dievs, tev dod, un tu būsi tos padzinis un mitīsi viņu pilsētās un namos, 2 tad nošķir trīs pilsētas savā zemē, kuru Kungs, tavs Dievs, dod tev mantojumā. 3 Sagatavo sev ceļus un sadali trīs daļās savu zemi, ko Kungs, tavs Dievs, dod tev mantojumā, lai ik slepkava var turp aizbēgt. 4 Redzi, šādi slepkavas lai bēg turp un paliek dzīvi – ikviens, kas bez nodoma nositis savu tuvāko un nav to iepriekš nīdis, 5 piemēram, ja kāds kopā ar savu tuvāko gājis uz mežu cirst kokus, atvēzējis roku ar cirvi, lai nocirstu koku, bet cirvis nomucis no kāta un trāpījis tuvākajam, tā ka tas mirst, tad tāds var bēgt uz vienu no šīm trim pilsētām un palikt dzīvs. 6 Lai asinsatriebējs dusmās nevajā slepkavu, nepanāk viņu garajā ceļā un nenosit viņu bez nāves sprieduma, jo viņš iepriekš nebija nīdis savu tuvāko. 7 Tādēļ es tev pavēlu: nošķir trīs pilsētas!
8 Ja Kungs, tavs Dievs, paplašinās tavas robežas, kā viņš zvērējis taviem tēviem, un dos tev visu zemi, ko viņš teicies dot taviem tēviem, 9 jo tu būsi ievērojis un pildījis visu šo bauslību, ko es tev šodien pavēlu, mīlēdams Kungu, savu Dievu, un vienmēr staigādams viņa ceļos, tad pievieno šīm trīs pilsētām vēl trīs citas. 10 Lai netiek izlietas nevainīgas asinis tavā zemē, ko Kungs, tavs Dievs, dod tev mantojumā, – lai asinis nenāk pār tevi!
11 Bet, ja kāds būs nīdis savu tuvāko, uzglūnēs viņam, uzbruks un sitīs viņu, ka tas nomirst, un ja tāds vīrs bēgs uz kādu no šīm pilsētām, 12 tad lai viņa pilsētas vecajie liek to sagrābt no turienes un atdod viņu asinsatriebējam, un tāds lai mirst! 13 Lai tev nav viņa žēl! Izsvel no Israēla grēku par izlietām asinīm, tad tev būs labi!
Zemes īpašuma robežas
14 Nepārliec sava tuvākā robežu, ko nosprauduši tie, kas iepriekš bijuši tavā mantojuma daļā, ko tu mantosi zemē, kuru Kungs, tavs Dievs, tev dod par guvumu.
Liecinieks
15 Viens liecinieks nedrīkst liecināt par kādu vainu vai grēku, par jebkādu grēku, ko kāds darījis, – lieta lai tiek izskatīta pēc divu vai trīs liecinieku liecības. 16 Ja pret kādu liecina ļauns liecinieks un grib to apsūdzēt noziegumā, 17 tad lai abas puses, kam strīds, izstrīd to Kunga priekšā un priesteru un tiesnešu priekšā, kas būs tajā laikā. 18 Lai tiesneši izmeklē labi, un, redzi, ja tas liecinieks ir viltus liecinieks un viņš ir melīgi apsūdzējis savu brāli, 19 tad dariet viņam to, ko viņš bija nodomājis darīt savam brālim! Izsvel ļaunumu no sava vidus! 20 Pārējie lai klausās, bīstas un vairs nekad nedara šādu ļaunumu jūsu vidū! 21 Lai tev nav viņa žēl – dzīvību pret dzīvību, aci pret aci, zobu pret zobu, roku pret roku, kāju pret kāju!
