Numbers 35

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho,

2 Command the sons of Israel, that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in. And ye shall give suburbs for the cities round about them to the Levites.

Give orders to the children of Israel to give to the Levites, from the heritage which is theirs, towns for themselves, with land on the outskirts of the towns.

3 And they shall have the cities to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts.

These towns are to be their living-places, with land round them for their cattle and their food and all their beasts,

4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

Stretching from the wall of the towns a distance of a thousand cubits all round.

5 And ye shall measure outside the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.

The measure of this space of land is to be two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, and two thousand cubits on the south and on the west and on the north, the town being in the middle. This space will be the outskirts of their towns.

6 And of the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, there shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee to. And besides them ye shall give forty-two cities.

And the towns which you give the Levites are to be the six safe places to which the taker of life may go in flight; and in addition you are to give them forty-two towns.

7 All the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, them with their suburbs.

Forty-eight towns are to be given to the Levites, all with land round them.

8 And concerning the cities which ye shall give of the possession of the sons of Israel, from the many ye shall take many, and from the few ye shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give of his cities to the Levites.

And these towns are to be given out of the heritage of the children of Israel, taking the greater number from those who have much, and a smaller number from those who have little: everyone, in the measure of his heritage, is to give of his property to the Levites.

9 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses,

10 Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

Say to the children of Israel, when you have gone over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

11 then ye shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

Then let certain towns be marked out as safe places to which anyone who takes the life of another in error may go in flight.

12 And the cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people.

13 And the cities which ye shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

Six of the towns which you give will be such safe places;

14 Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities ye shall give in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.

Three on the other side of Jordan and three in the land of Canaan, to be safe places for flight.

15 For the sons of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, these six cities shall be for refuge, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

For the children of Israel and for the man from another country who is living among them, these six towns are to be safe places, where anyone causing the death of another through error may go in flight.

16 But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

But if a man gives another man a blow with an iron instrument, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

17 And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

Or if he gives him a blow with a stone in his hand, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

18 Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

Or if he gave him blows with a wood instrument in his hands, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death.

He whose right it is to give punishment for blood, may himself put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

20 And if he thrust him from hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

If in his hate he put a sword through him, or waiting secretly for him sent a spear or stone at him, causing his death;

21 or in enmity smote him with his hand, so that he died, he who smote him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.

Or in hate gave him blows with his hand, causing death; he who gave the death-blow is to be put to death; he is a taker of life: he whose right it is to give punishment for blood may put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him anything without lying in wait,

But if a man has given a wound to another suddenly and not in hate, or without design has sent something against him,

23 or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, nor sought his harm,

Or has given him a blow with a stone, without seeing him, so causing his death, though he had nothing against him and no desire to do him evil:

24 then the congregation shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.

Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules:

25 And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge where he fled. And he shall dwell in it until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil.

26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,

But if ever he goes outside the walls of the safe town where he had gone in flight,

27 and the avenger of blood find him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,

And the giver of punishment, meeting him outside the walls of the town, puts him to death, he will not be responsible for his blood:

28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.

Because he had been ordered to keep inside the safe town till the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the taker of life may come back to the place of his heritage.

29 And these things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

These rules are to be your guide in judging through all your generations wherever you may be living.

30 Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person so that he dies.

Anyone causing the death of another is himself to be put to death on the word of witnesses: but the word of one witness is not enough.

31 Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.

Further, no price may be given for the life of one who has taken life and whose right reward is death: he is certainly to be put to death.

32 And ye shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

And no price may be offered for one who has gone in flight to a safe town, for the purpose of letting him come back to his place before the death of the high priest.

33 So ye shall not pollute the land in which ye are, for blood, it pollutes the land. And no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.

So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it.

34 And thou shall not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell, for I, Jehovah, dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel.

Do not make unclean the land where you are living and in which is my House: for I the Lord am present among the children of Israel.