Numbers 35

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

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

2 Command the children of Israel, that of the inheritance of their possession they give unto the Levites cities to dwell in; and a suburb for the cities round about them shall ye give unto 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 the cities shall they have to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, 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 that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be from the walls of the city 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, without the city, the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst: they shall have this as 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 [among] the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither, — 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 that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs.

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

8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have much ye shall take much, and from them that have little ye shall take little; each one according to his inheritance which he will inherit 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 unto the children of Israel, and say unto 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 for yourselves cities: cities of refuge shall they be for you; that a manslayer may flee thither, who without intent smiteth a person mortally.

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 ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in 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 that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you.

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

14 Three cities shall ye give on this side of the Jordan, and three cities shall ye 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 children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them shall these six cities be a refuge, that one who smiteth a person mortally without intent may flee thither.

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 And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly 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 have smitten him with a stone from the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly 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 have smitten him with an instrument of wood, in the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly 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, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth 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 at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die,

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 from enmity smite him with his hand, so that he die, he that smote him shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth 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 have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally,

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 [have smitten him] with any stone wherewith one may die, without seeing him, and have cast it upon him so that he die, and he was not his enemy, neither 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 assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these judgments;

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 assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; and he shall abide 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 in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled,

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 limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer, there shall be no blood-guiltiness upon him;

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 for the manslayer should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high-priest; but after the death of the high-priest he may 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 this shall be unto you a statute of right 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 shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die.

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 And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly 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 satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should 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 And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, but by the blood of him that 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 ye shall not defile the land that ye inhabit, in the midst whereof I dwell; for I am Jehovah who dwell in the midst of the children 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.