Josua 20

1 Og HERREN talede til Josua og sagde:

And Yahweh spake unto Joshua, saying:

2 »Tal til Israeliterne og sig: Afgiv de Tilflugtsbyer, jeg talede til eder om ved Moses,

Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, —Set out for you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you, by the hand of Moses:

3 for at en Manddraber, der uforsætligt og af Vanvare slaar en ihjel, kan ty til dem, saa at de kan være eder Tilflugtssteder mod Blodhævneren.

that the manslayer who slayeth a person by mistake, unwittingly, may flee thither, —so shall they be unto you for refuge from the blood-redeemer,

4 Naar han tyr hen til en af disse Byer og stiller sig i Byportens Indgang og forebringer sin Sag for Byens Ældste, skal de optage ham i Byen hos sig og anvise ham et Sted, hvor han kan bo hos dem;

and he shall flee unto one of these cities and present himself at the entrance of the gate of the city, and shall speak, in the ears of the elders of that city, his defence, —and they shall take him for protection into the city unto them, and shall give him a place, so shall he dwell with them.

5 og naar Blodhævneren forfølger ham, maa de ikke udlevere Manddraberen til ham, thi han har slaaet sin Næste ihjel af Vanvare uden i Forvejen at have baaret Nag til ham;

And, when the blood-redeemer pursueth after him, then shall they not deliver up the manslayer, into his hand, —because, unwittingly, it was that he slew his neighbour, and had not been, cherishing hatred, towards him, aforetime;

6 han skal blive boende i denne By, indtil han har været stillet for Menighedens Domstol, eller den Mand, som paa den Tid er Ypperstepræst, dør; derefter kan Manddraberen vende tilbage til sin By og sit Hjem, den By, han er flygtet fra.«

so shall he remain in that city, until he standeth before the assembly, for judgment, until the death of the high-priest who shall be in those days, —then, shall the manslayer return, and enter into his own city, and into his own house, within the city from whence he fled.

7 Da helligede de Kedesj i Galilæa i Naftalis Bjerge, Sikem i Efraims Bjerge og Kirjat-Arba, det er Hebron, i Judas Bjerge.

So then they set apart Kadesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba, the same, is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah.

8 Og østen for Jordan afgav de Bezer i Ørkenen, paa Højsletten, af Rubens Stamme, Ramot i Gilead at Gads Stamme og Golan i Basan af Manasses Stamme.

And, beyond the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness, 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 Det var de Byer, som fastsattes for alle Israeliterne og de fremmede, som bor iblandt dem, i det Øjemed at enhver, der uforsætligt slaar en ihjel, kan ty derhen og undgaa Døden for Blodhævnerens Haand, før han har været stillet for Menighedens Domstol.

These, were the cities appointed for all the sons of Israel, and for the sojourner who sojourneth in their midst, that whosoever should slay a person by mistake, might flee thither, —and not die by the hand of the blood-redeemer, until he should stand before the assembly.