Numbers 35

1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,

And the Lord also spoke these things to Moses in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho:

2 Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and an open space for the cities round about them shall ye give [also] unto the Levites.

“Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may give to the Levites, from their possessions,

3 And the cities shall serve them to dwell in; and their open spaces shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their requirements.

cities as dwelling places, with their surrounding suburbs, so that they may lodge in the towns, and so that the suburbs may be for cattle and beasts of burden.

4 And the open spaces of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

The suburbs shall extend from the outer walls of the cities, all around, for the space of one thousand steps.

5 And ye shall measure from without 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, with the city in the midst: this shall be to them the open spaces of the cities.

Facing the east, there shall be two thousand cubits, and facing the south, similarly, there shall be two thousand cubits. Toward the sea, also, which looks out toward the west, there shall be the same measure, and the northern region shall be bounded by equal limits. And the cities shall be in the center, and the suburbs shall be outside.

6 And the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint that the manslayer may flee thither; and in addition to them shall ye give forty and two cities.

Now, from the towns which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for the assistance of fugitives, so that he who has shed blood may flee to them. And, aside from these, there shall be forty-two other towns,

7 All the cities which ye shall [thus] give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities, they with their open spaces.

that is, all together forty-eight with their suburbs.

8 And the cities which ye shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the tribe that hath many shall ye give many; but from the one that hath few shall ye give few: every one according to its inheritance which it may inherit shall give of its cities unto the Levites.

And concerning these cities, which shall be given from the possessions of the sons of Israel: from those who have more, more shall be taken, and from those who have less, less shall be taken. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the measure of their inheritance.”

9 And the Lord spoke unto Moses. saying,

The Lord said to Moses:

10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye have passed over the Jordan into the land of Canaan:

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

11 Then ye shall appoint unto yourselves proper cities, that they be cities of refuge for you; and thither shall flee the manslayer who killeth any person at unawares.

discern which cities ought to be for the protection of fugitives who have shed blood unwillingly.

12 And these cities shall be unto you for a refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the congregation for trial.

And when a fugitive is in these, the kinsman of the deceased shall not be able to kill him, until he stands in the sight of the multitude and his case is judged.

13 And the cities which ye shall give, shall be six cities of refuge unto you;

Then, among those cities which are separated for relief to fugitives,

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

three shall be across the Jordan, and three in the land of Canaan,

15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, shall these six cities be for a refuge: that every one may flee thither that killeth any person at unawares.

as much for the sons of Israel as for newcomers and sojourners, so that anyone who has shed blood unwillingly may flee to these places.

16 And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

If anyone will have struck someone with iron, and he who was struck will have died, then he shall be guilty of homicide, and he himself shall die.

17 And if he have smitten him with a stone which one can take in the hand, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

If he will have thrown a stone, and he who has been struck lies dead, then he shall be punished similarly.

18 Or if he have smitten him with an article of wood, which one can take in the hand, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

If he who has been struck with wood passes away, he shall be avenged by the blood of the one who struck him.

19 The avenger of the blood himself shall slay the murderer; when he meeteth him, shall he slay him.

The close relative of the deceased shall put to death the murderer; as soon as he apprehends him, he shall put him to death.

20 And if he push against him out of hatred, or he have hurled at him [any thing] by lying in wait, that he die;

If, out of hatred, anyone assaults a man, or throws anything at him with ill intent,

21 Or if in enmity he have smitten him with his hand, that he died, he that smote him shall surely be put to death; [for] he is a murderer: the avenger of the blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth with him.

or, while being his enemy, strikes him with his hand, and so he has died, the attacker shall be guilty of murder. The kinsman of the deceased, as soon as he finds him, shall cut his throat.

22 But if he have pushed against him accidentally without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without lying in wait,

But if by chance, and without hatred

23 Or with any stone wherewith a man may die, without seeing him, and he have let it fall upon him that he died; whereas he was not his enemy, and did not seek his harm:

or animosity, he will have done any of these things,

24 Then shall the congregation judge between the slayer and the avenger of the blood according to these institutions;

and this has been proven in the hearing of the people, and the questions have been aired, between the one who struck and the close relative,

25 And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of the blood, and the congregation 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 hath been anointed with the holy oil.

then the innocent one shall be freed from the hand of the revenger, and he shall be returned by this judgment into the city to which he had fled, and he shall stay there until the high priest, who has been anointed with the holy oil, dies.

26 But if the manslayer should at any time pass the boundary of the city of his refuge, whither he may have fled;

If the one who has killed has been found beyond the limits of the cities which have been assigned to the exiled,

27 And the avenger of the blood should find him beyond the boundary of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of the blood should kill the manslayer: he shall not be guilty of blood;

and he has been struck by him who is avenging blood, he who killed him shall not be harmed.

28 Because in the city of his refuge shall be remain until the death of the high-priest; but after the death of the high-priest the manslayer may return unto the land of his possession.

For the fugitive ought to have resided in the city, until the death of the high priest. Then, after he is dead, the one who has killed shall be returned to his own land.

29 And these things shall be unto you for a statute of justice throughout your generations, in all your dwellings.

These things shall be a perpetual ordinance in all your habitations.

30 Whoever it be that killeth a person, according to the testimony of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

The punishment of a murderer shall be based upon testimony; but no one shall be condemned upon the testimony of only one person.

31 Moreover ye shall take no redemption money for the person of a murderer, who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.

You shall not accept money from him who is guilty of blood, and he shall be put to death promptly.

32 And ye shall take no redemption money 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.

Exiles and fugitives, prior to the death of the high priest, are by no means able to be returned to their own cities.

33 And ye shall not defile the land wherein ye are; for the blood it is which defileth the land: and no atonement can be made unto the land for the blood which hath been shed therein, except through the blood of him that hath shed it.

Do not pollute the land of your habitation, so as to stain it with the blood of the innocent; neither is it able to be expiated in any way other than by the blood of him who has shed the blood of another.

34 And ye shall not render unclean the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.

And so shall your possession be cleansed, while I myself am abiding with you. For I am the Lord, who lives among the sons of Israel.”