accidental killings

¹And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them: ²Separate the cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses, ³so that anyone who will have struck down a life unintentionally may flee to them. And so, he may be able to escape from the wrath of a close relative, who is an avenger of blood. ⁴And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live. ⁵And if the avenger of blood will have pursued him, they shall not deliver him into his hands. For he struck down his neighbor unknowingly, one who was not proven to have been his enemy two or three days before. ⁶And he shall live in that city, until he stands before judgment in order to render the facts of his case, and until the death of the high priest, whoever it will be in that time. Then the one who killed a man may return, and he may enter his own city and house, from which he had fled.”

¹“When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to you, and when you possess it and live in its cities and buildings, ²you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession, ³paving the road carefully. And you shall divide the entire province of your land equally into three parts, so that he who is forced to flee because of manslaughter may have a place nearby to which he may be able to escape. ⁴This shall be the law of the killer who flees, whose life is to be saved. Whoever strikes down his neighbor unwillingly, and who has been proven to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before, ⁵such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live. ⁶Otherwise, perhaps the near relative of him whose blood was shed, impelled by his grief, might pursue and apprehend him, unless the way is too long, and he might strike down the life of him who is not guilty unto death, since he had demonstrated that he had no prior hatred against him who was slain.

⁹If we confess our sins, then he is faithful and just, so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

⁶Whoever will shed human blood, his blood will be poured out. For man was indeed made to the image of God.

¹³You shall not murder.

²²If men will have quarreled, and one of them has struck a pregnant woman, and as a result she miscarries, but she herself survives, he shall be subject to as much damage as the husband of the woman shall petition from him, or as arbitrators shall judge.

¹³But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands, then I will appoint for you a place to which he must flee.

¹“When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to you, and when you possess it and live in its cities and buildings, ²you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession, ³paving the road carefully. And you shall divide the entire province of your land equally into three parts, so that he who is forced to flee because of manslaughter may have a place nearby to which he may be able to escape. ⁴This shall be the law of the killer who flees, whose life is to be saved. Whoever strikes down his neighbor unwillingly, and who has been proven to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before, ⁵such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live. ⁶Otherwise, perhaps the near relative of him whose blood was shed, impelled by his grief, might pursue and apprehend him, unless the way is too long, and he might strike down the life of him who is not guilty unto death, since he had demonstrated that he had no prior hatred against him who was slain.

²If a thief will have been discovered breaking into a house, or digging under it, and he has received a mortal wound, he who struck him down will not be guilty of blood. ³But if he did this when the sun was risen, he has perpetrated a homicide, and he shall die. If he does not have the means to make restitution for the theft, he shall be sold.

²²But if by chance, and without hatred ²³or animosity, he will have done any of these things, ²⁴and this has been proven in the hearing of the people, and the questions have been aired, between the one who struck and the close relative, ²⁵then the innocent one shall be freed from the hand of the revenger, and he shall be returned by this judgment into the city to which he had fled, and he shall stay there until the high priest, who has been anointed with the holy oil, dies.

²³For the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹²Whoever strikes a man, intending to murder, shall be put to death. ¹³But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands, then I will appoint for you a place to which he must flee. ¹⁴If someone murders his neighbor with deliberation, by lying in wait, you shall tear him away from my altar, so that he may die.

⁵such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live.

¹²Whoever strikes a man, intending to murder, shall be put to death.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God. ²And so, whoever resists authority, resists what has been ordained by God. And those who resist are acquiring damnation for themselves. ³For leaders are not a source of fear to those who work good, but to those who work evil. And would you prefer not to be afraid of authority? Then do what is good, and you shall have praise from them. ⁴For he is a minister of God for you unto good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid. For it is not without reason that he carries a sword. For he is a minister of God; an avenger to execute wrath upon whomever does evil. ⁵For this reason, it is necessary to be subject, not solely because of wrath, but also because of conscience. ⁶Therefore, you must also offer tribute. For they are the ministers of God, serving him in this.

⁵For I will examine the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast. So also, at the hand of mankind, at the hand of each man and his brother, I will examine the life of mankind. ⁶Whoever will shed human blood, his blood will be poured out. For man was indeed made to the image of God.

¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding within him.

²¹You have heard that it was said to the ancients: ‘You shall not murder; whoever will have murdered shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you, that anyone who becomes angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. But whoever will have called his brother, ‘Idiot,’ shall be liable to the council. Then, whoever will have called him, ‘Worthless,’ shall be liable to the fires of Hell.

⁶By the mouth of two or three witnesses, he who is to be put to death shall perish. Let no one be killed with only one person speaking testimony against him.

²²If men will have quarreled, and one of them has struck a pregnant woman, and as a result she miscarries, but she herself survives, he shall be subject to as much damage as the husband of the woman shall petition from him, or as arbitrators shall judge. ²³But if her death will have followed, he will repay a life for a life, ²⁴an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, ²⁵a scrape for a scrape, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.