Joshua 20

1 And Yahweh spake unto Joshua, saying:

And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

2 Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, —Set out for you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you, by the hand of Moses:

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign the cities of refuge, [of] which I spoke to you by Moses.

3 that the manslayer who slayeth a person by mistake, unwittingly, may flee thither, —so shall they be unto you for refuge from the blood-redeemer,

[Even] a refuge to the slayer who has struck a man unintentionally; and the cities shall be to you a refuge, and the slayer shall not be put to death by the avenger of blood, until he have stood before the congregation for judgement.

4 and he shall flee unto one of these cities and present himself at the entrance of the gate of the city, and shall speak, in the ears of the elders of that city, his defence, —and they shall take him for protection into the city unto them, and shall give him a place, so shall he dwell with them.

And Joshua separated Cades in Galilee in the mount Nephthali, and Sychem in the mount Ephraim, and the city of Arboc; this is Chebron, in the mountain of Juda.

5 And, when the blood-redeemer pursueth after him, then shall they not deliver up the manslayer, into his hand, —because, unwittingly, it was that he slew his neighbour, and had not been, cherishing hatred, towards him, aforetime;

And beyond Jordan he appointed Bosor in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Ruben, and Aremoth in Galaad out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in the country of Basan out of the tribe of Manasse.

6 so shall he remain in that city, until he standeth before the assembly, for judgment, until the death of the high-priest who shall be in those days, —then, shall the manslayer return, and enter into his own city, and into his own house, within the city from whence he fled.

These [were] the cities selected for the sons of Israel, and for the stranger dwelling amongst them, that every one who smites a soul unintentionally should flee there, that he should not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he should stand before the congregation for judgement.

7 So then they set apart Kadesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba, the same, is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah.

8 And, beyond the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness, in the table-land, 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.

9 These, were the cities appointed for all the sons of Israel, and for the sojourner who sojourneth in their midst, that whosoever should slay a person by mistake, might flee thither, —and not die by the hand of the blood-redeemer, until he should stand before the assembly.