Numbers 35

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses to the west of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,

Yahweh told this to Moses/me [while the Israeli people were] on the plain in the Moab region near the Jordan [River], across from Jericho:

2 Give orders to the children of Israel, and they shall give to the Levites cities to dwell in from the lot of their possession, and they shall give to the Levites the suburbs of the cities round about them.

“Tell the Israeli people that from the land that they will receive, they must give to the descendants of Levi some cities in which they can live. They must also give them some land around these cities.

3 And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and their enclosures shall be for their cattle and all their beasts.

Those will be for the descendants of Levi to live in, and around the cities will be land for their cattle and flocks of sheep and goats and other animals.

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

“The land that you give them for their animals must extend out for (1,500 feet/450 meters) from the walls of the cities.

5 And thou shalt measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and your city shall be in the midst of this, and the suburbs of the cities [as described].

Also measure (3,000 feet/900 meters) in each direction out from the walls of each city. That additional land will be land for their animals outside the walls of the cities.”

6 And ye shall give the cities to the Levites, the six cities of refuge which ye shall give for the slayer to flee thither, and in addition to these, forty-two cities.

“Six of the cities that you give to the descendants of Levi will be cities to which people [can run] to be safe. If someone [accidentally] kills someone else, the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities to be safe.

7 Ye shall give to the Levites in all forty-eight cities, them and their suburbs.

You must also give to the descendants of Levi 42 other cities and the land around those cities, for their animals,

8 And as for the cities which ye shall give out of the possession of the children of Israel, from those [that have] much [ye shall give] much, and from those that have less ye shall give less: they shall give of their cities to the Levites each one according to his inheritance which they shall inherit.

The Israeli tribes that have the most people must give them more cities than the tribes that have fewer people give. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the descendants of Levi, but the tribes that have more land must give more cities, and the tribes that have less land will give fewer cities.”

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

10 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan.

“Tell this to the Israeli people: When you cross the Jordan [River] and enter the Canaan [region],

11 And ye shall appoint to yourselves cities: they shall be to you cities of refuge for the slayer to flee to, every one who has killed another unintentionally.

you must choose some cities to which people can run to be safe/protected. If someone kills another person (accidentally/without planning to do that), the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities and be safe.

12 And the cities shall be to you places of refuge from the avenger of blood, and the slayer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

One of the relatives of the person who was killed may think he must avenge his relative’s death [by killing the murderer]. But in that city, the killer will be safe [because the people in that city would kill those relatives if they tried to get revenge there]. The man who killed someone accidentally [must] be put on trial in a court.

13 And the cities which ye shall assign, [even] the six cities, shall be places of refuge for you.

You must set apart six cities to be cities to which someone who killed another person accidentally may run and be safe.

14 Ye shall assign three cities on the other side of Jordan, and ye shall assign three cities in the land of Chanaan.

There must be three of those cities on the east side of the Jordan [River] and three that will be [on the west side], in the Canaan region.

15 It shall be a place of refuge for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for him that sojourns among you; these cities shall be for a place of refuge, for every one to flee thither who has killed a man unintentionally.

Those six cities will be cities where Israeli people may run to and be safe, and where foreigners and other people who are living among you can also run to and be safe. Any of those people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of those cities [and be safe/protected there].

16 And if he should smite him with an iron instrument, and the man should die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

“But [you must consider that] anyone who kills another person with an iron weapon or with a big rock or with a piece of wood, is a murderer, and the one who killed the other person must be executed.

17 And if he should smite him with a stone [thrown] from his hand, whereby a man may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

18 And if he should smite him with an instrument of wood from his hand, whereby he may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

19 The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: whensoever he shall meet him he shall slay him.

A relative of the person who was murdered must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him.

20 And if he should thrust him through enmity, or cast any thing upon him from an ambuscade, and the man should die,

If someone shoves another person [over a cliff] or throws something at another person

21 or if he have smitten him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that smote him be put to death by all means, he is a murderer: let the murderer by all means be put to death: the avenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him.

or hits that person with his hand/fist and causes that person to die, if he did it because he hated that person, then you must consider that he is a murderer, and must be executed. A relative of the person who was killed must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him.

22 But if he should thrust him suddenly, not through enmity, or cast any thing upon him, not from an ambuscade,

“But someone might accidentally shove someone else, or accidentally throw something at another person and hit him, not because he hates that person.

23 or [smite him] with any stone, whereby a man may die, unawares, and it should fall upon him, and he should die, but he was not his enemy, nor sought to hurt him;

Or he might drop a rock on someone that he did not see. If the one who does that does not plan to hurt anyone and does not hate the person that was killed,

24 then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments.

the people of that city must decide whether the relative of the dead person [has the right to get revenge], or whether the one who killed the other person [truly did it (accidentally/without planning to do it)].

25 And the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he fled for refuge; and he shall dwell there till the death of the high-priest, whom they anointed with the holy oil.

[If they decide that the killer planned to kill the other person, they must not allow him to stay in their city. But if they decide that it was done accidentally], they must protect the killer from being killed by the dead person’s relative. They must send the killer to one of the cities where he will be safe/protected, and allow him to stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. [After that, the killer may go back to his home, because the dead person’s relative no longer has the right to get revenge].

26 But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge,

“But [while the Supreme Priest is still living], the person who is in that safe city must not leave that city.

27 and the avenger of blood should find him without the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood should kill the slayer, he is not guilty.

If he goes outside the city, and if a relative of the dead person finds him, that relative is permitted to kill that person, [and people will not consider that the relative is guilty of murder.]

28 For he ought to have remained in the city of refuge till the high-priest died; and after the death of the high-priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession.

The killer must stay in that city where he will be safe/protected until the Supreme Priest dies. [He will be safe from revenge after that, because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to be a sacrifice to atone for that murder]. After that, the killer may return to his home.

29 And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgment throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

“You must always obey those regulations, wherever you live.

30 Whoever kills a man, thou shalt slay the murderer on the testimony of witnesses; and one witness shall not testify against a soul that he should die.

“If someone [is accused of] killing another person, the one who is accused may be executed only if there are people who saw him do it. There must be more than one witness; no one is permitted to be executed if there was only one (witness/person who saw him do it).

31 And ye shall not accept ransoms for life from a murderer who is worthy of death, for he shall be surely put to death.

“If there is a murderer who truly should be executed, do not [spare his life by] accepting (a ransom/money for him not to be killed). He must be executed.

32 Ye shall not accept a ransom [to excuse] his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest.

“If someone has run to a city where he will be safe/protected, do not allow him to give you money in order that you will permit him to return to his home before the Supreme Priest dies.

33 So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it.

“You must execute people who truly murder others. If you did not do that, you would be causing the people who live in the land to become unacceptable to me. Anyone who deliberately kills an innocent person must be executed.

34 And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.

I am Yahweh, and I live among you Israelis, so do not spoil/pollute the land by allowing people to murder others without being punished.”