Deuteronomy 19 · Verse 3

Deuteronomy 19:3

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.

Deuteronomy 19:3, King James Version

Deuteronomy 19:3 in other translations

BSB	You are to build roads for yourselves and divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities.
WEB	You shall prepare the way, and divide the borders of your land which the LORD your God causes you to inherit into three parts, that every man slayer may flee there.
ASV	Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which Jehovah thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither.
YLT	Thou dost prepare for thee the way, and hast divided into three parts the border of thy land which Jehovah thy God doth cause thee to inherit, and it hath been for the fleeing thither of every man-slayer.
DARBY	Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the territory of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, so that every slayer may flee thither.
BBE	You are to make ready a way, and see that the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, is marked out into three parts, to which any taker of life may go in flight.
Webster	Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the limits of thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

What does Deuteronomy 19:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

3. Thou shalt prepare thee a way--The roads leading to them were to be kept in good condition and the brooks or rivers to be spanned by good bridges; the width of the roads was to be thirty-two cubits; and at all the crossroads signposts were to be erected with the words, Mekeleth, Mekeleth, "refuge, refuge," painted on them. divide the coasts of thy land ... into three parts--the whole extent of the country from the south to the north. The three cities on each side of Jordan were opposite to each other, "as two rows of vines in a vineyard" (see on Jos 20:7).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way - The Jews inform us that the roads to the cities of refuge were made very broad, thirty-two cubits; and even, so that there should be no impediments in the way; and were constantly kept in good repair.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 19:1-13

Chapter Outline The cities of refuge, The man-slayer, The murderer. (1-13) Landmarks not to be removed. (14) The punishment of false witnesses. (15-21) Verses 1-13 Here is the law settled between the blood of the murdered, and the blood of the murderer; provision is made, that the cities of refuge should be a protection, so that a man should not die for that as a crime, which was not his willing act. In Christ, the…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 19:1-13 →

Deuteronomy 19:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

תָּכִ֣יןta.Khinyou will establishH3559

לְךָ֮le.Khafor <the> yourself

הַדֶּרֶךְ֒ha.de.reKhthe journeyH1870

וְשִׁלַּשְׁתָּ֙ve.shi.lash.Taand you will divide into threeH8027

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

גְּב֣וּלge.Vul[the] territory ofH1366

אַרְצְךָ֔'ar.tze.Khaland yourH776

אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834

יַנְחִֽילְךָ֖yan.chi.le.Khahe will give as an inheritance youH5157

יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068

אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430

וְהָיָ֕הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961

לָנ֥וּסla.Nusto fleeH5127

שָׁ֖מָּהSha.mahthere towardsH8033

כָּל\־kol-everyH3605

רֹצֵֽחַ\׃ro.Tze.achkillerH7523

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 19:3

Isaiah 57:14
And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
Hebrews 12:13
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Isaiah 62:10
Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
Isaiah 35:8
And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Isa 35:8; 57:14; 62:10; Heb 12:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Deuteronomy 19:2
Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.
Deuteronomy 19:3
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.
Deuteronomy 19:4
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;

Read all of Deuteronomy 19

Deuteronomy 19:3 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Arreglarte has el camino, y dividirás en tres partes el término de tu tierra, que Jehová tu Dios te dará en heredad, y será para que todo homicida se huya allí.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	tu t’en prépareras le chemin, et tu diviseras en trois parties le territoire de ton pays que l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, te donne en héritage; et ce sera afin que tout homicide s’y enfuie.
German Elberfelder 1871	Du sollst dir den Weg dahin zurichten, und das Gebiet deines Landes, das Jehova, dein Gott, dir als Erbteil geben wird, in drei Teile teilen; und das soll geschehen, damit jeder Totschläger dahin fliehe.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	sternens diligenter viam: et in tres æqualiter partes totam terræ tuæ provinciam divides: ut habeat e vicino qui propter homicidium profugus est, quo possit evadere.