Joshua 20

1 The Lord also spake vnto Ioshua, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them:

2 Speake to the children of Israel, and say, Appoint you cities of refuge, whereof I spake vnto you by the hand of Moses,

Separate the cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses,

3 That the slaier that killeth any person by ignorance, and vnwittingly, may flee thither, and they shall be your refuge from the auenger of blood.

so that anyone who will have struck down a life unintentionally may flee to them. And so, he may be able to escape from the wrath of a close relative, who is an avenger of blood.

4 And he that doeth flee vnto one of those cities, shall stand at the entring of the gate of the citie, and shall shewe his cause to the Elders of the citie: and they shall receiue him into the citie vnto them, and giue him a place, that hee may dwell with them.

And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live.

5 And if the auenger of blood pursue after him, they shall not deliuer the slaier into his hand because hee smote his neighbour ignorantly, neither hated he him before time:

And if the avenger of blood will have pursued him, they shall not deliver him into his hands. For he struck down his neighbor unknowingly, one who was not proven to have been his enemy two or three days before.

6 But hee shall dwell in that citie vntill hee stande before the Congregation in iudgement, or vntill the death of the hie Priest that shall be in those daies: then shall the slaier returne, and come vnto his owne citie, and vnto his owne house, euen vnto the citie from whence he fled.

And he shall live in that city, until he stands before judgment in order to render the facts of his case, and until the death of the high priest, whoever it will be in that time. Then the one who killed a man may return, and he may enter his own city and house, from which he had fled.”

7 Then they appointed Kedesh in Galil in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba, (which is Hebron) in the mountaine of Iudah.

And they decreed Kedesh in Galilee, at mount Naphtali, and Shechem, at mount Ephraim, and Kiriath-Arba, which is Hebron, at mount Judah.

8 And on the other side Iorden toward Iericho Eastward, they appoynted Bezer in the wildernesse vpon the plaine, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead, out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, out of the tribe of Manasseh.

And beyond the Jordan, opposite the eastern side of Jericho, they appointed Bezer, which is situated on the plain of the wilderness of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These were the cities appoynted for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that soiourned among them, that whosoeuer killed any person ignorantly, might flee thither, and not die by the hande of the auenger of blood, vntill hee stoode before the Congregation.

These cities were established for all the sons of Israel, and for the new arrivals who were living among them, so that whoever had struck down a life unintentionally might flee to these, and not die at the hand of a close relative who desires to vindicate the blood that was shed, until he should stand before the people, in order to present his case.