Joshua 20

1 Joshua te BOEIPA a voek tih,

And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them:

2 “Israel ca rhoek te thui pah lamtah, Moses kut dongah nangmih ham ka thui vabangla, 'Hlipyingnah khopuei te namamih ham khueh uh,’ ti nah.

Separate the cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses,

3 A ming mueh ah tohtamaeh la hinglu aka ngawn, aka ngawn tah te lam te rhaelrham saeh. Te vaengah thii phu aka suk taeng lamloh nangmih ham hlipyingnah la om saeh.

so that anyone who will have struck down a life unintentionally may flee to them. And so, he may be able to escape from the wrath of a close relative, who is an avenger of blood.

4 Te khopuei khuikah pakhat pakhat la a rhaelrham vaengah khopuei vongka kah thohka ah pai saeh lamtah a dum a lai te khopuei kah a hamca rhoek hna ah thui pah saeh. Te vaengah anih te a kho khuila khoem uh saeh, anih te a hmuen pae uh van saeh lamtah amih taengah khosa saeh.

And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live.

5 Te vaengah thii phu aka suk loh a hnuk han hloem mai cakhaw hlaem hlavai ah anih te a hmuhuet moenih, a hui te poek mueh la a ngawn oeh dongah hlang aka ngawn te phu aka suk kut ah tloeng uh boel saeh.

And if the avenger of blood will have pursued him, they shall not deliver him into his hands. For he struck down his neighbor unknowingly, one who was not proven to have been his enemy two or three days before.

6 Laitloeknah ham rhaengpuei mikhmuh ah pai hlan tih, te vaeng tue ah aka om khosoih puei loh a duek hlan khuiah tah te khopuei ah te khosa saeh. Hlang aka ngawn te a mael vaengah tah te lamkah a rhaelrham khopuei lamloh amah kho neh amah im te paan saeh,” a ti nah.

And he shall live in that city, until he stands before judgment in order to render the facts of his case, and until the death of the high priest, whoever it will be in that time. Then the one who killed a man may return, and he may enter his own city and house, from which he had fled.”

7 Te dongah Galilee, Naphtali tlang kah Kedesh, Ephraim tlang ah Shekhem, Judah tlang Hebron ah Kiriatharba,

And they decreed Kedesh in Galilee, at mount Naphtali, and Shechem, at mount Ephraim, and Kiriath-Arba, which is Hebron, at mount Judah.

8 rhalvangan ah Jordan kah khocuk Jerikho te a hoep uh. Khosoek tlangkol, Reuben koca khuiah ah Bezer, Gilead kah Gad koca khuiah Ramoth, Bashan kah Manasseh koca khuiah Golan te a khueh uh.

And beyond the Jordan, opposite the eastern side of Jericho, they appointed Bezer, which is situated on the plain of the wilderness of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 Tohtamaeh ah hinglu aka ngawn boeih loh te la a rhaelrham ham, amih lakli ah aka bakuep Israel ca rhoek boeih neh yinlai ham khaw te rhoek te khopuei khoyaeh la om coeng. Te daengah ni rhaengpuei mikhmuh ah a pai hlan atah thii phu aka suk kut loh a ngawn pawt eh.

These cities were established for all the sons of Israel, and for the new arrivals who were living among them, so that whoever had struck down a life unintentionally might flee to these, and not die at the hand of a close relative who desires to vindicate the blood that was shed, until he should stand before the people, in order to present his case.