約書亞記 20

1 上主訓示說：「

And the Lord said to Joshua,

2 你應告訴以色列子民說：他們應向照我藉梅瑟向你們所提及的，指定一些避難城，

Say to the children of Israel, Let certain towns be marked out as safe places, as I said to you by the mouth of Moses,

3 好使無心誤殺人的能逃到那裏去。這些城市作為你們逃避血仇者的地方

So that any man who in error and without design has taken the life of another, may go in flight to them: and they will be safe places for you from him who has the right of punishment for blood.

4 那誤殺人的，只要逃往這些城中的一座，立於城門口，將自己的事，報告給這城的長老聽；長老就該將他接入城中，給他地方，讓他往在他們中間。

And if anyone goes in flight to one of those towns, and comes into the public place of the town, and puts his cause before the responsible men of the town, they will take him into the town and give him a place among them where he may be safe.

5 如果報血仇者追來了，長老不可將他交於報血仇者手中，因為他殺人原是出於無心，素無仇恨。

And if the one who has the right of punishment comes after him, they are not to give the taker of life up to him; because he was the cause of his neighbour's death without designing it and not in hate.

6 殺人者應往在這城內，直到他在會眾前出庭受審，直到現任的大司祭去世之後，方可回到本城本家，即由之逃出城市。」

And he is to go on living in that town till he has to come before the meeting of the people to be judged; (till the death of him who is high priest at that time: ) then the taker of life may come back to his town and to his house, to the town from which he had gone in flight.

7 以色列人於是在納斐塔里山區，指定了加里肋亞的刻德士；在厄弗辣因山區指定了舍根；在猶大山區指定了克黎雅特阿爾耳巴，即赫貝龍；

So they made selection of Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (which is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah.

8 在約旦河東岸，耶利哥東面，在曠野高原裏，勒烏本支派內指定了貝責爾；在加得支派內，指定了基肋阿得的辣摩特；在默納協支派內，指定了巴商的哥藍。

And on the east side of Jordan at Jericho, they made selection of Bezer in the waste land, in the table-land, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 以上是為所有的以色列人和寄他們中間的外方人指定的城市，使凡誤殺人的，能逃往那裏去，在他未出庭受會眾審判以前，不致死在報血仇者的手裏。

These were the towns marked out for all the children of Israel and for the man from a strange country living among them, so that anyone causing the death of another in error, might go in flight there, and not be put to death by him who has the right of punishment for blood till he had come before the meeting of the people.