Deuteronomy 19:7

Myles Coverdale Bible

Therfore commaunde I the, that thou appoynte out thre cities.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves.

Hebrew Names Version
Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for you.

King James Version
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

Lexham English Bible
Therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall set apart three cities.'

English Standard Version
Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities.

New Century Version
This is why I command you to choose these three cities.

New English Translation
Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

Amplified Bible
"Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities [of refuge] for yourself.'

New American Standard Bible
"Therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside for yourself three cities.'

Geneva Bible (1587)
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt appoint out three cities for thee.

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore, I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall set apart three cities for yourself.'

Contemporary English Version
That's why I said there must be three Safe Towns.

Complete Jewish Bible
This is why I am ordering you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

Darby Translation
Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thyself.

Easy-to-Read Version
That is why I commanded you to choose three special cities.

George Lamsa Translation
Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for you.

Good News Translation
This is why I order you to set aside three cities.

Literal Translation
On account of this I am commanding you, saying, You shall separate to yourself three cities.

American Standard Version
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee.

Bible in Basic English
And so I am ordering you to see that three towns are marked out for this purpose.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wherfore I commaunde thee, saying: Thou shalt appoynt out three cities for thee.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Wherefore I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.'

King James Version (1611)
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Therefore I charge thee, saying, Thou shalt separate for thy self three cities.

English Revised Version
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

Berean Standard Bible
This is why I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Y comaunde to thee, that thou departe thre citees of euene space bitwixe hem silf.

Young's Literal Translation
therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Three cities thou dost separate to thee.

Update Bible Version
Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for yourself.

Webster's Bible Translation
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

World English Bible
Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for you.

New King James Version
Therefore I command you, saying, "You shall separate three cities for yourself.'

New Living Translation
That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge.

New Life Bible
So I tell you, ‘Set apart three cities for yourself.'

New Revised Standard
Therefore I command you: You shall set apart three cities.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For this cause, am I commanding thee saying, - Three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Therefore I command thee, that thou separate three cities at equal distance one from another.

Revised Standard Version
Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.'

Contextual Overview

¹ Whan ye LORDE thy God shall haue roted out ye nacios, whose londe ye LORDE thy God shal geue the, so yt thou hast conquered them, and dwellest in their cities and houses, ² thou shalt appoynte the out thre cities in the myddes of the lode, yt the LORDE thy God shal geue ye to possesse. ³ Thou shalt prepare the waye, and parte the coastes of yi londe (which ye LORDE thy God shal deuyde out vnto the) in to thre partes, that whosoeuer hath commytted a slaughter, maye flie thither. ⁴ And this shalbe the cause, that whosoeuer hath committed a slaughter, maye flye thyther, and lyue. ⁵ Yf eny man smyte his neghboure vnawarres, and hath not hated him in tyme passed (as whan a man goeth vnto the wod with his neghboure to hew downe tymber, and he turneth his hande wt the axe to hewe downe the wod, and the yron slyppeth from the helue, and hytteth his neghboure, that he dyeth) the same shal flye in to one of these cities, that he maye lyue, ⁶ lest the auenger of bloude folowe after the deedsleyer, whyle his hert is whote, and ouertake him, whyle the waye is so farre, and slaye him, where as yet no cause of death is in hi, for so moch as he hated him not in tyme passed. ⁷ Therfore commaunde I the, that thou appoynte out thre cities. ⁸ And whan the LORDE yi God enlargeth thy borders, as he hath sworne vnto thy fathers, & geueth the all the lode which he promysed thy fathers to geue ⁹ (so that thou kepe all these comaundementes, and do yt I commaunde the this daye, yt thou loue the LORDE thy God, and walke in his wayes all yi life longe) the shalt thou adde yet thre cities vnto these thre, ¹⁰ that innocent bloude be not shed in thy londe (which the LORDE yi God geueth the to enheritaunce) and so bloude come vpon the.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 19:4
But before they wente to rest, the men of the cite of Sodome came and compased the house rounde aboute, yonge and olde, all the people from all quarters,

Genesis 19:9
But they sayde: Come thou hither. Then sayde they: Camest not thou onely herin as a straunger, and wilt thou now be a iudge? Wel, we will deale worse with the the with them.And they pressed sore vpon ye man Lot. And whan they ranne to, and wolde haue broken vp the dore,

Genesis 19:11
And the men at ye dore of the house were smytte with blyndnesse both small and greate, so that they coude not fynde the dore.

Genesis 19:23
And the Sonne was vp vpon the earth, whan Lot came in to Zoar.

Genesis 19:24
Then the LORDE caused brymstone and fyre to rayne downe from the LORDE out of heauen vpon Sodoma and Gomorra,

Leviticus 18:22
Thou shalt not lye with mankynde as with womankynde, for yt is abhominacion.

Leviticus 20:13
Yf eny man lye with the mankynde, as with womankynde, they haue wrought abhominacion, & shal both dye the death: their bloude be vpon them.

Deuteronomy 23:17
There shal be no whore amonge ye doughters of Israel, nether whorekeper amonge the sonnes of Israel.

Judges 19:23
But the good man of the house wente forth to them, and sayde vnto them: Oh no my brethren, do not so wickedly, consideringe this man is come in to my house: Oh do not soch folye.

Acts 17:26
and hath made of one bloude all the generacion of men to dwell vpo all the face of ye earth: and hath assygned borders appoynted before, how longe and farre they shulde dwell,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Wherefore I command thee, saying, thou shalt separate three cities for thee. This was to be done immediately, as soon as they were settled in the land of Canaan, and established in the possession of it, the inhabitants being cut off, or driven out, or however subdued.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This and the next two chapters contain enactments designed to protect human life, and to impress its sanctity on Israel.

In Deuteronomy 19:1-13 the directions respecting the preparation of the roads to the cities of refuge, the provision of additional cities in case of an extension of territory, and the intervention of the elders as representing the congregation, are unique to Deuteronomy and supplementary to the laws on the same subject given in the earlier books (compare the marginal reference).

Deuteronomy 19:1, Deuteronomy 19:2

The three cities of refuge for the district east of Jordan had been already named. Moses now directs that when the territory on the west of Jordan had been conquered, a like allotment of three other cities in it should be made. This was accordingly done; compare Joshua 20:1 ff,

Deuteronomy 19:3

Thou shalt prepare thee a way - It was the duty of the Senate to repair the roads that led to the cities of refuge annually, and remove every obstruction. No hillock was left, no river over which there was not a bridge; and the road was at least 32 cubits broad. At cross-roads there were posts bearing the words Refuge, Refuge, to guide the fugitive in his flight. It seems as if in Isaiah 40:3 ff the imagery were borrowed from the preparation of the ways to the cities of refuge.

Deuteronomy 19:5

With the axe - literally, “with the iron.” Note the employment of iron for tools, and compare Deuteronomy 3:11 note.

Deuteronomy 19:8, Deuteronomy 19:9

Provision is here made for the anticipated enlargement of the borders of Israel to the utmost limits promised by God, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18, note; Exodus 23:31, note). This promise, owing to the sins of the people, did not receive its fulfillment until after David had conquered the Philistines, Syrians, etc.; and this but a transient one, for many of the conquered peoples regained independence on the dissolution of Solomon’s empire.