Deuteronomy 19 presents various laws where the guilty need to be punished and the innocent need to be protected. First, Moses instructs that cities of refuge be set aside in the land they will conquer (Deuteronomy 19:1-3, 8-9), like in the land east of the Jordan (4:41-43). These are for people who kill ″a neighbour unintentionally, without malice aforethought″ (19:4). Today, we call this involuntary manslaughter, and it takes place through negligence or through an accident.

When weak and innocent people suffer because their society has not made provision for their safety, the whole society shares in the guilt of the harm done and is ″guilty of bloodshed″ (v. 10). The teaching of this passage lies behind the asylum principle of giving refuge and protection to people who are unfairly exposed to danger. Bible-believing Christians have God's heart of concern for those who fear that they are going to be deprived of a fair chance of justice. So, throughout history, churches have been open to welcoming people who flee to them seeking asylum. But then, as now, there were genuine asylum seekers and false ones (v. 11).

In cases of premeditated murder, punishing the murderer is equated to purging the land and the nation from the guilt of bloodshed (vv. 11-13). Until the murderer is punished, it will not ″go well with″ the community, as God's law has been broken. Impunity (exemption from punishment for wrong actions) is a serious problem in many societies today. A state where evil is tolerated and not punished is a dishonourable state. Honour is restored when crime is punished.

Verse 14 prohibits moving boundary stones in properties. Sadly, greed can sometimes overcome even Christians to make them grab portions of the property of others which they are not entitled to.

Verses 15-19 present three safeguards to ensure that accusations against others are handled justly. First, more than one witness backing the accusation is required (v. 15). Second, there must be a ″thorough investigation″ (v. 18). And third, false witnesses must be punished with the punishment intended for the accused (v. 19).

Verse 21 presents the famous law of retaliation: ″life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth″. Christians tend to contrast this with Jesus' teaching about turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39). However, Jesus was talking about personal revenge, whereas Deuteronomy was speaking about national laws of justice. We should not seek personal revenge against those who harm us, and we must leave the matter in God's hands (Romans 12:19). We will find that God sometimes uses governing authorities to punish those who have wronged us (13:4).