Numbers 35

1 The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho. He told him,

And Yahweh spake unto Moses in the waste plains of Moab, —by Jordan, near Jericho, saying:

2 “Order the Israelites to provide from their land allocation towns for the Levites to live in and pastures around the towns.

Command the sons of Israel, that they give unto the Levites—out of the inheritance which they possess—cities to dwell in, —pasture land also unto the cities, round about them, shall ye give unto the Levites.

3 The towns are for them to live in, and the pastures will be for their herds and their flocks—for all their livestock.

So shall the cities be theirs, to dwell in, —and their pasture lands, shall, be for their cattle and for their goods and for all their beasts.

4 The pastures around the towns you give to the Levites are to extend out from the wall a thousand cubits on all sides.

And, the pasture lands of the cities which ye shall give unto the Levite, shall be, —from the wall of the city, and outwards, a thousand cubits round about

5 Measure two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, two thousand on the south, two thousand on the west, and two thousand on the north, with the town in the middle. These areas will be their pastures around the towns.

So ye shall measure—on the outside of the city—the eastward quarter two thousand by the cubit, and the south quarter two thousand by the cubit, and the west quarter two thousand by the cubit and the north quarter two thousand by the cubit, with, the city, in the midst. This, shall be unto them the pasture lands of the cities,

6 Six of the towns you give the Levites are to be sanctuary towns, where a person who kills someone can run for protection. As well as these towns, give the Levites forty-two more.

And, among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give that the manslayer may flee thither, —and besides them, ye shall give, forty-two cities,

7 The total number of towns you are to give the Levites is forty-eight, along with their pastures.

All the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be forty-eight cities, —them, and their pasture lands,

8 The towns that you allocate to be given to the Levites from the territory of the Israelites will be more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. The number will be in proportion to the size of the land allocation of each tribe.”

And as touching the cities which ye shall give out of the possession of the sons of Israel from the many, shall ye take many, and from the few, shall ye take few, —each, according to his inheritance, which they shall inherit, shall give of his cities unto the Levites.

9 The Lord told Moses,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

10 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When you cross over the Jordan into Canaan,

Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say unto them, —When ye are passing over the Jordan unto the land of Canaan,

11 choose towns as your sanctuary towns, so a person who kills someone by mistake may run there.

then shall ye find for you, convenient cities, cities of refuge, shall they be unto you, —and the manslayer, who hath slain a person, by mistake, shall flee thither.

12 These towns will be for you places of sanctuary from those seeking revenge, so that the killer will not die until they are tried in court.

So shall the cities serve you for places of refuge from the redeemer, —that the manslayer may not die, until he has stood before the assembly, for judgment,

13 The towns you choose will be your six sanctuary towns.

And as touching the cities which ye shall give six cities of refuge, shall there be unto you.

14 Choose three cities on the other side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.

Three of the cities, shall ye give, on this side the Jordan, and three of the cities, shall ye give in the land of Canaan, —cities of refuge, shall they be.

15 These six cities will be places of sanctuary for the Israelites and for foreigners or settlers among them, so that anyone who kills a person by mistake may run there.

For the sons of Israel and for the sojourner. and for the settler in your midst, shall these six cities serve, as places of refuge, —that any one may flee thither who hath slain a person, by mistake.

16 But if anyone deliberately hits someone with something made of iron and kills them, that person is a murderer and must be executed.

If, then, with an instrument of iron, he smote him, and he died, a manslayer, he is, —a manslayer, shall surely die.

17 If anyone picks up something made of stone that could be used as a weapon and hits someone with it, and kills them, that person is a murderer and must be executed.

Or if with a stone thrown by hand, where-by one might die, he smote him and he died, a manslayer, he is, —the man-slayer, shall surely die,

18 If anyone picks up something made of wood that could be used as a weapon and hits someone with it, and kills them, that person is a murderer and must be executed.

Or, if with hand-weapon of wood, wherewith one might die, he smote him and he died a manslayer, he is, —the manslayer shall surely die.

19 The avenger is to execute the murderer. When he finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

The blood-redeemer, he, shall put to death the man-slayer, —when he lighteth upon him, he, shall put him to death.

20 Similarly, if anyone hates someone and knocks them down or deliberately throws something at them, and they're killed;

Or if with hate, he shall thrust at him, or hurl at him designedly, and he have died,

21 or if someone hits another with his hand and they die, the one who hit him must be executed because he is a murderer. When the avenger finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

or if with enmity, he hath smitten him with his hand and he is dead, then shall he that dealt the blow, be surely put to death. a manslayer, he is—the blood-redeemer shall put to death the man-slayer, when he lighteth upon him.

22 But if anyone knocks someone else down without meaning to and without hating them, or throws something at them not meaning to hurt them,

But if suddenly, without enmity, he shall thrust him, or hurl upon him any missile, without design;

23 or carelessly drops a heavy stone that kills them, but not as an enemy or intending to harm them,

Or with any stone whereby one might die without seeing him, and it fall upon him, and he dieth; he, not being at enmity with him, nor seeking to harm him,

24 then the community must judge between the killer and the avenger following these regulations.

then shall the assembly judge, between him that smote and the blood-redeemer, —according to these regulations;

25 The court is to protect the killer from being attacked by the avenger and must return him to the sanctuary town that he ran to, and he must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with holy oil.

and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the blood-redeemer, and the assembly shall restore him unto his city of refuge whither he had fled, —and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who hath been anointed with the hallowing oil.

26 But if the killer ever leaves the limits of sanctuary town where they ran to,

But if the man-slayer, go out, of the bounds of his city of refuge, whereinto he hath fled;

27 and the avenger finds him them outside his sanctuary town and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of murder,

and the blood-redeemer, find him, outside the bounds of his city of refuge, then may the blood-redeemer slay the slayer, without being guilty of blood;

28 because the killer has to stay in his sanctuary town until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest are they allowed to return to the land they own.

for in his city of refuge, should he have remained, until the death of the high priest, —and, after the death of the high priest, might he have returned into the land which he doth possess.

29 These regulations apply to all future generations wherever you live.

So shall these serve you as a regulative statute unto your generations, —wheresoever ye may dwell.

30 If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be executed based on the evidence given by witnesses, plural. No one is to be executed based on the evidence given by a single witness.

Whosoever taketh away life, at the mouth of witnesses, shall, the slayer be slain, —but, one witness, shall not testify against a person, to put him to death.

31 You are not to accept payment instead of executing a murderer who has been found guilty—they must be executed.

And ye shall accept no ransom for the life of him that slayeth, if he have unlawfully caused death, —but he, must surely be put to death.

32 Also you are not allowed to accept payment for a person who runs to a sanctuary town and permit them to return and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.

And ye shall accept no ransom for him that hath fled to his city of refuge, if he should return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

33 Don't pollute the land where you live because bloodshed pollutes the land, and the land where blood is shed can't be purified except by the blood of the one who shed it.

So shall ye not pollute the land wherein ye are, for blood, doth pollute the land, and for the land, no propitiatory-covering can be made, as touching blood, that is shed therein, save with the blood of him that shed it;

34 Don't make the land impure where you live because I live there too. I am the Lord, and I live with the Israelites.”

thou must not then make unclean the land wherein, ye, are dwelling, in the midst of which, I, have my habitation; for, I,—Yahweh, am making my habitation in the midst of the sons of Israel.