Deuteronomy 19

Deuteronomy · Chapter 19

Deuteronomy 19:15

1When 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;2Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.3Thou 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.4And 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;5As 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:6Lest 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.7Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.8And 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;9If 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:10That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.11But 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:12Then 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.13Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.14Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.15One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.16If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;17Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;18And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;19Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.20And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.21And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
15One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
notלֹֽא־lo'-H3808
not

לֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

he will standיָקוּם֩ya-KUMH6965INo entry
a witnessעֵ֨ד'edH5707
witness

עֵד (ed) 1) witness 1a) witness, testimony, evidence (of things) 1b) witness (of people)

oneאֶחָ֜ד'e-CHADH0259
one

אֶחָד (e.chad) 1) one (number) 1a) one (number) 1b) each, every 1c) a certain 1d) an (indefinite article) 1e) only, once, once for all 1f) one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one 1g) first 1h) eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal)

in anyoneבְּאִ֗ישׁbe-'ISHH0376I
man

אִישׁ (ish) : man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective)

to anyלְכָל־le-kholH3605
all

כֹּל (kol) 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of 1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)

iniquityעָוֹן֙'a-VONH5771G
iniquity: crime

עָוֺן (a.van) : crime 1) perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity 1a) iniquity 1b) guilt of iniquity, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition) 1c) consequence of or punishment for iniquity

and to anyוּלְכָל־u-le-khol-H3605
all

כֹּל (kol) 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of 1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)

sinחַטָּ֔אתcha-TATH2403B
sin

חַטָּאת (chat.tat) : sin 1) sin, sin offering 1a) sin 1b) condition of sin, guilt of sin 1c) punishment for sin 1d) sin-offering 1e) purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness

in anyבְּכָל־be-kholH3605
all

כֹּל (kol) 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of 1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)

sinחֵ֖טְאchet'H2399
sin

חֵטְא (chet) 1) sin 1a) sin 1b) guilt for sin 1c) punishment for sin Aramaic equivalent: cha.ti (חֲטָי "sin" H2408)

whichאֲשֶׁ֣ר'a-SHERH0834A
which

אֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when

he will sinיֶֽחֱטָ֑אye-che-TA'H2398
to sin

חָטָא (cha.ta) 1) to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to miss 1a2) to sin, miss the goal or path of right and duty 1a3) to incur guilt, incur penalty by sin, forfeit 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to bear loss 1b2) to make a sin-offering 1b3) to purify from sin 1b4) to purify from uncleanness 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to miss the mark 1c2) to induce to sin, cause to sin 1c3) to bring into guilt or condemnation or punishment 1d) (Hithpael) 1d1) to miss oneself, lose oneself, wander from the way 1d2) to purify oneself from uncleanness

onעַל־'al-H5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

[the] mouth ofפִּ֣י׀piH6310I
lip

פֶּה (peh) : lip/mouth peh 1) mouth 1a) mouth (of man) 1b) mouth (as organ of speech) 1c) mouth (of animals) 1d) mouth, opening, orifice (of a well, river, etc) 1e) extremity, end pim 2) a weight equal to one third of a shekel, occurs only in 1Sa 13:21

twoשְׁנֵ֣יshe-NEIH8147
two

שְׁנַ֫יִם (she.na.yim) 1) two 1a) two (the cardinal number) 1a1) two, both, double, twice 1b) second (the ordinal number) 1c) in combination with other numbers 1d) both (a dual number)

witnessesעֵדִ֗ים'e-DIMH5707
witness

עֵד (ed) 1) witness 1a) witness, testimony, evidence (of things) 1b) witness (of people)

orא֛וֹ'oH0176A
or

אוֹ (o) 1) or, rather 1a) implying that the latter choice is preferred 1b) or if, introducing an example to be seen under a particular principle 1c) (in series) either...or, whether...or 1d) if perchance 1e) except, or else 2) whether, not the least, if, otherwise, also, and, then

onעַל־'al-H5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

[the] mouth ofפִּ֥יpiH6310I
lip

פֶּה (peh) : lip/mouth peh 1) mouth 1a) mouth (of man) 1b) mouth (as organ of speech) 1c) mouth (of animals) 1d) mouth, opening, orifice (of a well, river, etc) 1e) extremity, end pim 2) a weight equal to one third of a shekel, occurs only in 1Sa 13:21

threeשְׁלֹשָֽׁה־she-lo-shah-H7969
three

שָׁלֹשׁ (sha.losh) 1) three, triad 1a) 3, 300, third Aramaic equivalent: te.lat (תְּלָת "three" H8532)

witnessesעֵדִ֖ים'e-DIMH5707
witness

עֵד (ed) 1) witness 1a) witness, testimony, evidence (of things) 1b) witness (of people)

it will standיָק֥וּםya-KUMH6965INo entry
a matterדָּבָֽר׃da-VARH1697G
word

דָּבָר (da.var) : word/speech/command 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words 1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner (by extension)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.