Numbers 35

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

Yahweh spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said,

2 “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.

“Command the people of Israel to give some of their own shares of land to the Levites. They must give them cities to live in and pastureland surrounding those cities.

3 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.

The Levites will have these cities to live in. The pastureland will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their animals.

4 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.

The pasturelands around the cities that you will give to the Levites must extend from the city walls for one thousand cubits in every direction.

5 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.

You must measure two thousand cubits from outside the city on the east side, and two thousand cubits to the south side, two thousand cubits to the west side, and two thousand cubits to the north side. This will be the pasturelands for their cities. The cities will be in the center.

6 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;

Six of the cities that you will give to Levites must serve as cities of refuge. You must provide these as places to which a person who has killed someone can flee. Also provide forty-two other cities.

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

The cities that you give to the Levites will total forty-eight. You must give their pasturelands with them.

8 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.”

The larger tribes of the people of Israel, the tribes that have more land, must provide more cities. The smaller tribes will provide fewer cities. Each tribe must provide for the Levites according to the share that it has received.”

9 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you have said to them: When you are passing over the Jordan to the land of Canaan,

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

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

then you must choose cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, a place to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee.

12 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.

These cities must be your refuge from the avenger, so that the accused man will not be killed without first standing trial before the community.

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

You must choose six cities as cities of refuge.

14 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.

You must provide three cities beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. They will be cities of refuge.

15 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.

For the people of Israel, for the foreigners, for anyone living among you, these six cities will serve as a refuge to which anyone who kills someone unintentionally can flee.

16 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.

But if an accused man has struck his victim with an instrument of iron, and if his victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death.

17 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.

If an accused man has struck his victim with a stone in his hand that might kill the victim, and if his victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death.

18 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.

If an accused man has struck his victim with a wooden weapon that might kill the victim, and if the victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death.

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

The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death. When he meets him, the avenger of blood must put him to death.

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

If he strikes another in hatred or throws something at him, while hiding to ambush him, so that the victim dies,

21 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.

or if he strikes him down in hatred with his hand so that the victim dies, then the accused who struck him must surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death when he meets him.

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

But if an accused man suddenly hits a victim without premeditated hate or throws something that hits the victim without lying in wait

23 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,

or if he throws a stone that could kill a victim without seeing the victim, then the accused was not the victim's enemy; he was not trying to hurt the victim. But this is what to do if the victim dies anyway.

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

In that case, the community must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood on the basis of these rules.

25 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.

The community must rescue the accused from the power of the avenger of blood. The community must return the accused to the city of refuge to which he had originally fled. He must live there until the death of the current high priest, the one who was anointed with the holy oil.

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

But if the accused man at any time goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he fled,

27 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;

and if the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and if he kills the accused man, the avenger of blood will not be guilty of murder.

28 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.

This is because the accused man should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. After the death of the high priest, the accused may return to the land where he has his own property.

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

These laws must be statutes for you through all your people's generations in all the places where you live.

30 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.

Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be killed, as testified to by the words of witnesses. But one witness' word alone may not cause any person to be put to death.

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

Also, you must not accept ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of murder. He must certainly be put to death.

32 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.

You must not accept ransom for the one who has fled to a city of refuge. You must not in this way allow him to reside on his own property until the high priest dies.

33 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;

Do not pollute in this way the land where you live, because blood from murder pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land when blood has been shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

34 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.”

So you must not defile the land in which you live because I am living in it. I, Yahweh, live among the people of Israel.'”