Numbers 35

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

And YHWH speaks to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, [near] Jericho, saying,

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.

“Command the sons of Israel, and they have given to the Levites cities to inhabit from the inheritance of their possession; you also give [the] outskirt around them, of the cities, to the Levites.

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.

And the cities have been for them to inhabit, and their outskirts are for their livestock, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

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.

And the outskirts of the cities which you give to the Levites [are], from the wall of the city and outside, one thousand cubits around.

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.

And you have measured from the outside of the city: the east 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; and the city [is] in the midst; this is the outskirts of the cities to them.

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.

And the cities which you give to the Levites [are] the six cities of refuge, which you give for the fleeing there of the manslayer, and besides them you give forty-two cities;

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

all the cities which you give to the Levites [are] forty-eight cities, them and their outskirts.

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 the cities which you give [are] from the possession of the sons of Israel; from the many you multiply, and from the few you diminish; each, according to his inheritance which they inherit, gives to the Levites from his cities.”

9 And the Lord spoke unto Moses. saying,

And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

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 have said to them: When you are passing over the Jordan to 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.

and have prepared cities for yourselves—they are cities of refuge to you—then a manslayer, striking a person through ignorance, has fled there,

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 the cities have been for a refuge to you from the redeemer, and the manslayer does not die until his standing before the congregation for judgment.

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

As for the cities which you give, six [are] cities of refuge to you;

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 of the cities you give from beyond the Jordan, and three of the cities you give in the land of Canaan; they are cities of refuge.

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.

For sons of Israel, and for a sojourner, and for a settler in their midst, are these six cities for a refuge, for the fleeing there of anyone striking a person through ignorance.

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.

And if he has struck him with an instrument of iron, and he dies, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

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.

And if he has struck him with a stone [in] the hand, with which he could die, and he dies, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

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.

Or [if] he has struck him with a wooden instrument [in] the hand, with which he could die, and he dies, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

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

The redeemer of blood puts the murderer to death himself; in his coming against him he puts 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;

And if he pushes him in hatred, or has cast [anything] at him by lying in wait, and he dies,

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 he has struck him with his hand in enmity, and he dies, the striker is certainly put to death; he [is] a murderer; the redeemer of blood puts the murderer to death in his coming against him.

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

And if, in an instant, without enmity, he has pushed him, or has cast any instrument at him without lying in wait,

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 with any stone with which he could die, without seeing, indeed, causes [it] to fall on him, and he dies, and he [is] not his enemy, nor seeking his evil,

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

then the congregation has judged between the striker and the redeemer of blood by these judgments.

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.

And the congregation has delivered the manslayer out of the hand of the redeemer of blood, and the congregation has caused him to return to the city of his refuge, to where he has fled, and he has dwelt in it until the death of the chief priest who has been anointed with the holy oil.

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

And if the manslayer indeed goes out [from] the border of the city of his refuge to where he flees,

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 the redeemer of blood has found him at the outside of the border of the city of his refuge, and the redeemer of blood has slain the manslayer, blood [is] not [reckoned] to him;

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 he dwells in the city of his refuge until the death of the chief priest; and after the death of the chief priest the manslayer turns back to the city of his possession.

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

And these things have been for a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations, in all your dwellings.

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.

Whoever strikes a person, by the mouth of witnesses [one] slays the murderer; and one witness does not testify against a person to cause [him] to die.

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.

And you take no atonement for the life of a murderer who [is] condemned to die, for he is certainly put to death;

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.

and you take no atonement for him [who had] to flee to the city of his refuge, to return to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

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.

And you do not profane the land which you [are] in, for blood profanes the land; as for the land, it is not pardoned for blood which is shed in it except by the blood of him who sheds it;

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 you do not defile the land in which you are dwelling, in the midst of which I dwell, for I, YHWH, dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel.”