Deuteronomy 19:9
If 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: If 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:
The verse is part of Moses' rehearsal of the law before Israel crossed the Jordan into the promised land. The expression this day is a solemn, emphatic expression often used alongside a statement or command, emphasizing the act of speaking rather than specifying when a later event will happen. The verse belongs to the provision of cities of refuge, where a person who has killed someone could escape the avenger and obtain a fair trial. That provision mitigated the customary duty of the next of kin to kill the murderer. That provision does not allow a guilty murderer to evade the legal consequences of guilt. The law concerning blood revenge was restricted, and it is an example of a law that existed in patriarchal times and was later included in the Mosaic code.
The addition of three cities of refuge beyond the first three was conditional on Israel keeping all the commandments given that day, loving God, and walking ever in his ways, thus joining wholehearted obedience with the promised provision.
The verse includes love for God and walking in his ways among the commandments to be kept, identifying this as the precept of loving God. Such love for God is the ruling force behind good moral action, governing thought, word, and deed, subduing other loves, purifying the heart and motives, and driving out impure passions. The verse is grouped with passages that connect the precept of loving God to precious promises.
The cities of refuge provided places where people could hide from any danger threatening the community, with a refuge being a secure stronghold such as a massive rock crowned with buildings and reached only by climbing many flights of steps in a tall tower. God's provision of a city of refuge as a place of safety for people persecuted and forced to leave their own people means that Jews who accept Christ and are bitterly persecuted and cast out by their countrymen should be given such a refuge where they receive work and are trained to become workers for others.