Numbers 35

1 And Yahweh spake unto Moses in the waste plains of Moab, —by Jordan, near Jericho, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho,

2 Command the sons of Israel, that they give unto the Levites—out of the inheritance which they possess—cities to dwell in, —pasture land also unto the cities, round about them, shall ye give unto the Levites.

Give orders to the children of Israel to give to the Levites, from the heritage which is theirs, towns for themselves, with land on the outskirts of the towns.

3 So shall the cities be theirs, to dwell in, —and their pasture lands, shall, be for their cattle and for their goods and for all their beasts.

These towns are to be their living-places, with land round them for their cattle and their food and all their beasts,

4 And, the pasture lands of the cities which ye shall give unto the Levite, shall be, —from the wall of the city, and outwards, a thousand cubits round about

Stretching from the wall of the towns a distance of a thousand cubits all round.

5 So ye shall measure—on the outside of the city—the eastward 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, with, the city, in the midst. This, shall be unto them the pasture lands of the cities,

The measure of this space of land is to be two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, and two thousand cubits on the south and on the west and on the north, the town being in the middle. This space will be the outskirts of their towns.

6 And, among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give that the manslayer may flee thither, —and besides them, ye shall give, forty-two cities,

And the towns which you give the Levites are to be the six safe places to which the taker of life may go in flight; and in addition you are to give them forty-two towns.

7 All the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be forty-eight cities, —them, and their pasture lands,

Forty-eight towns are to be given to the Levites, all with land round them.

8 And as touching the cities which ye shall give out of the possession of the sons of Israel from the many, shall ye take many, and from the few, shall ye take few, —each, according to his inheritance, which they shall inherit, shall give of his cities unto the Levites.

And these towns are to be given out of the heritage of the children of Israel, taking the greater number from those who have much, and a smaller number from those who have little: everyone, in the measure of his heritage, is to give of his property to the Levites.

9 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

10 Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say unto them, —When ye are passing over the Jordan unto the land of Canaan,

Say to the children of Israel, when you have gone over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

11 then shall ye find for you, convenient cities, cities of refuge, shall they be unto you, —and the manslayer, who hath slain a person, by mistake, shall flee thither.

Then let certain towns be marked out as safe places to which anyone who takes the life of another in error may go in flight.

12 So shall the cities serve you for places of refuge from the redeemer, —that the manslayer may not die, until he has stood before the assembly, for judgment,

In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people.

13 And as touching the cities which ye shall give six cities of refuge, shall there be unto you.

Six of the towns which you give will be such safe places;

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

Three on the other side of Jordan and three in the land of Canaan, to be safe places for flight.

15 For the sons of Israel and for the sojourner. and for the settler in your midst, shall these six cities serve, as places of refuge, —that any one may flee thither who hath slain a person, by mistake.

For the children of Israel and for the man from another country who is living among them, these six towns are to be safe places, where anyone causing the death of another through error may go in flight.

16 If, then, with an instrument of iron, he smote him, and he died, a manslayer, he is, —a manslayer, shall surely die.

But if a man gives another man a blow with an iron instrument, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

17 Or if with a stone thrown by hand, where-by one might die, he smote him and he died, a manslayer, he is, —the man-slayer, shall surely die,

Or if he gives him a blow with a stone in his hand, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

18 Or, if with hand-weapon of wood, wherewith one might die, he smote him and he died a manslayer, he is, —the manslayer shall surely die.

Or if he gave him blows with a wood instrument in his hands, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

19 The blood-redeemer, he, shall put to death the man-slayer, —when he lighteth upon him, he, shall put him to death.

He whose right it is to give punishment for blood, may himself put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

20 Or if with hate, he shall thrust at him, or hurl at him designedly, and he have died,

If in his hate he put a sword through him, or waiting secretly for him sent a spear or stone at him, causing his death;

21 or if with enmity, he hath smitten him with his hand and he is dead, then shall he that dealt the blow, be surely put to death. a manslayer, he is—the blood-redeemer shall put to death the man-slayer, when he lighteth upon him.

Or in hate gave him blows with his hand, causing death; he who gave the death-blow is to be put to death; he is a taker of life: he whose right it is to give punishment for blood may put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

22 But if suddenly, without enmity, he shall thrust him, or hurl upon him any missile, without design;

But if a man has given a wound to another suddenly and not in hate, or without design has sent something against him,

23 Or with any stone whereby one might die without seeing him, and it fall upon him, and he dieth; he, not being at enmity with him, nor seeking to harm him,

Or has given him a blow with a stone, without seeing him, so causing his death, though he had nothing against him and no desire to do him evil:

24 then shall the assembly judge, between him that smote and the blood-redeemer, —according to these regulations;

Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules:

25 and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the blood-redeemer, and the assembly shall restore him unto his city of refuge whither he had fled, —and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who hath been anointed with the hallowing oil.

And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil.

26 But if the man-slayer, go out, of the bounds of his city of refuge, whereinto he hath fled;

But if ever he goes outside the walls of the safe town where he had gone in flight,

27 and the blood-redeemer, find him, outside the bounds of his city of refuge, then may the blood-redeemer slay the slayer, without being guilty of blood;

And the giver of punishment, meeting him outside the walls of the town, puts him to death, he will not be responsible for his blood:

28 for in his city of refuge, should he have remained, until the death of the high priest, —and, after the death of the high priest, might he have returned into the land which he doth possess.

Because he had been ordered to keep inside the safe town till the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the taker of life may come back to the place of his heritage.

29 So shall these serve you as a regulative statute unto your generations, —wheresoever ye may dwell.

These rules are to be your guide in judging through all your generations wherever you may be living.

30 Whosoever taketh away life, at the mouth of witnesses, shall, the slayer be slain, —but, one witness, shall not testify against a person, to put him to death.

Anyone causing the death of another is himself to be put to death on the word of witnesses: but the word of one witness is not enough.

31 And ye shall accept no ransom for the life of him that slayeth, if he have unlawfully caused death, —but he, must surely be put to death.

Further, no price may be given for the life of one who has taken life and whose right reward is death: he is certainly to be put to death.

32 And ye shall accept no ransom for him that hath fled to his city of refuge, if he should return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

And no price may be offered for one who has gone in flight to a safe town, for the purpose of letting him come back to his place before the death of the high priest.

33 So shall ye not pollute the land wherein ye are, for blood, doth pollute the land, and for the land, no propitiatory-covering can be made, as touching blood, that is shed therein, save with the blood of him that shed it;

So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it.

34 thou must not then make unclean the land wherein, ye, are dwelling, in the midst of which, I, have my habitation; for, I,—Yahweh, am making my habitation in the midst of the sons of Israel.

Do not make unclean the land where you are living and in which is my House: for I the Lord am present among the children of Israel.