Josua 20

1 Og HERREN talede til Josua og sagde:

Then Yahweh said to Joshua,

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

“Tell the Israeli people that they should choose some cities to which people [can run] in order to be safe/protected, like I told Moses that they should do.

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.

If someone kills another person accidentally, not intending to kill that person, the one who killed that person may run/escape to one of these cities and be safe/protected from someone trying to get revenge for that person’s death [MTY].

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;

When the one who killed someone arrives at the gate of one of those cities, he must stop there and tell the leaders of the city what happened. [If they believe him], they must allow him to enter the city, and they must give him a place to live among 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;

If some relative of the one who was killed comes to that city to get revenge, the leaders of that city must not allow the relative to take the killer, because what happened was accidental. He did not hate that person and as a result deliberately kill him.

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.«

But the person who killed someone must stay in that city until the city judges put him on trial. [Only if the judges decide that the person who has run/escaped to their city did not deliberately kill the other person will they allow him to stay in that city], and he must stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. Then he may safely go back to his own town, [because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to atone/pay for the death of the person who was killed].”

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

So the Israelis chose these cities to be cities to which people could run to be safe/protected: Kedesh in the Galilee district in the hilly area where the tribe of Naphtali lived; Shechem in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lived; Kiriath-Arba (which is [now named] Hebron) in the hilly area where the tribe of Judah lived;

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.

Bezer, on the east side of the Jordan [River] near Jericho, in the flat land in the desert where the tribe of Reuben lived; Ramoth in the Gilead [region] in the land where the tribe of Gad lived; and Golan in the Bashan region where the tribe of Manasseh lived.

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.

Any Israeli or any foreigner who lived among us, anyone who killed someone (accidentally/without planning to do it), was allowed to run to one of those cities, and be safe/protected from some relative of the person who died coming there and killing him to get revenge. He could stay in that city until there was a trial there [to decide whether he was telling the truth or not when he said that he did not plan to kill that person].