Numbers 35

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

And the Lord spoke these things also to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, over against 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.

Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites out of their possessions,

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.

Cities to dwell in, and their suburbs round about: that they may abide in the towns, and the suburbs may be for their cattle and 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

Which suburbs shall reach from the walls of the cities outward, a thousand paces on every side:

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,

Toward the east shall be two thousand cubits: and toward the south in like manner shall be two thousand cubits: toward the sea also, which looketh to the west, shall be the same extent: and the north side shall be bounded with the like limits. And the cities shall be in the midst, and the suburbs without.

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 among the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for refuge to fugitives, that he who hath shed blood may flee to them: and besides these there shall be other forty-two cities,

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

That is, in all forty-eight with their suburbs.

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 of these cities which shall be given out of the possessions of the children of Israel, from them that have more, more shall be taken: and from them that have less, fewer. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the extent of their inheritance.

9 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

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,

Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have passed over the Jordan into the land of Chanaan,

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.

Determine what cities shall be for the refuge of fugitives, who have shed blood against their will.

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,

And when the fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain may not have power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude, and his cause be judged.

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

And of those cities, that are separated for the refuge of fugitives,

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 shall be beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Chanaan,

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.

As well for the children of Israel as for strangers and sojourners, that he may flee to them, who hath shed blood against his will.

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

If any man strike with iron, and he die that was struck: he shall be guilty of murder, and he himself shall die.

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,

If he throw a stone, and he that is struck die: he shall be punished in the same manner.

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.

If he that is struck with wood die: he shall be revenged by the blood of him that struck him.

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

The kinsman of him that was slain, shall kill the murderer: as soon as he apprehendeth him, he shall kill him.

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

If through hatred any one push a man, or fling any thing at him with ill design:

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 being his enemy, strike; him with his hand, and he die: the striker shall be guilty of murder: the kinsman of him that was slain as soon as he findeth him, shall kill him.

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

But if by chance medley, and without hatred,

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,

And enmity, he do any of these things,

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

And this be proved in the hearing of the people, and the cause be debated between him that struck, and the next of kin:

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.

The innocent shall be delivered from the hand of the revenger, and shall be brought back by sentence into the city, to which he had fled, and he shall abide there until the death of the high priest, that is anointed with the holy oil.

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

If the murderer be found without the limits of the cities that are appointed for the banished,

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 be struck by him that is the avenger of blood: he shall not be guilty that killed him.

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.

For the fugitive ought to have stayed in the city until the death of the high priest: and after he is dead, then shall the manslayer return to his own country.

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

These things shall be perpetual, and for an ordinance in all your dwellings.

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.

The murderer shall be punished by witnesses: none shall be condemned upon the evidence of one man.

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.

You shall not take money of him that is guilty of blood, but he shall die forthwith.

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.

The banished and fugitives before the death of the high priest may by no means return into their own cities.

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;

Defile not the land of your habitation, which is stained with the blood of the innocent: neither can it otherwise be expiated, but by his blood that hath shed the blood of another.

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.

And thus shall your possession he cleansed, myself abiding with you. For I am the Lord that dwell among the children of Israel.