Joshua 20

1 Then Yahweh said to Joshua,

耶和華曉諭約書亞說：

2 “Tell the Israeli people that they should choose some cities to which people [can run] in order to be safe/protected, like I told Moses that they should do.

「你吩咐以色列人說：你們要照着我藉摩西所曉諭你們的，為自己設立逃城，

3 If someone kills another person accidentally, not intending to kill that person, the one who killed that person may run/escape to one of these cities and be safe/protected from someone trying to get revenge for that person’s death [MTY].

使那無心而誤殺人的，可以逃到那裏。這些城可以作你們逃避報血仇人的地方。

4 When the one who killed someone arrives at the gate of one of those cities, he must stop there and tell the leaders of the city what happened. [If they believe him], they must allow him to enter the city, and they must give him a place to live among them.

那殺人的要逃到這些城中的一座城，站在城門口，將他的事情說給城內的長老們聽。他們就把他收進城裏，給他地方，使他住在他們中間。

5 If some relative of the one who was killed comes to that city to get revenge, the leaders of that city must not allow the relative to take the killer, because what happened was accidental. He did not hate that person and as a result deliberately kill him.

若是報血仇的追了他來，長老不可將他交在報血仇的手裏；因為他是素無仇恨，無心殺了人的。

6 But the person who killed someone must stay in that city until the city judges put him on trial. [Only if the judges decide that the person who has run/escaped to their city did not deliberately kill the other person will they allow him to stay in that city], and he must stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. Then he may safely go back to his own town, [because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to atone/pay for the death of the person who was killed].”

他要住在那城裏，站在會眾面前聽審判，等到那時的大祭司死了，殺人的才可以回到本城本家，就是他所逃出來的那城。」

7 So the Israelis chose these cities to be cities to which people could run to be safe/protected: Kedesh in the Galilee district in the hilly area where the tribe of Naphtali lived; Shechem in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lived; Kiriath-Arba (which is [now named] Hebron) in the hilly area where the tribe of Judah lived;

於是，以色列人在拿弗他利山地分定加利利的基低斯；在以法蓮山地分定示劍；在猶大山地分定基列‧亞巴（基列‧亞巴就是希伯崙）；

8 Bezer, on the east side of the Jordan [River] near Jericho, in the flat land in the desert where the tribe of Reuben lived; Ramoth in the Gilead [region] in the land where the tribe of Gad lived; and Golan in the Bashan region where the tribe of Manasseh lived.

又在約旦河外耶利哥東，從呂便支派中，在曠野的平原，設立比悉；從迦得支派中設立基列的拉末；從瑪拿西支派中設立巴珊的哥蘭。

9 Any Israeli or any foreigner who lived among us, anyone who killed someone (accidentally/without planning to do it), was allowed to run to one of those cities, and be safe/protected from some relative of the person who died coming there and killing him to get revenge. He could stay in that city until there was a trial there [to decide whether he was telling the truth or not when he said that he did not plan to kill that person].

這都是為以色列眾人和在他們中間寄居的外人所分定的城邑，使誤殺人的都可以逃到那裏，不死在報血仇人的手中，等他站在會眾面前聽審判。