Numbers 35
1 Yahweh told this to Moses/me [while the Israeli people were] on the plain in the Moab region near the Jordan [River], across from Jericho:
Yahweh spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said,
2 “Tell the Israeli people that from the land that they will receive, they must give to the descendants of Levi some cities in which they can live. They must also give them some land around these cities.
“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 Those will be for the descendants of Levi to live in, and around the cities will be land for their cattle and flocks of sheep and goats and other animals.
The Levites will have these cities to live in. The pastureland will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their animals.
4 “The land that you give them for their animals must extend out for (1,500 feet/450 meters) from the walls of the cities.
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 Also measure (3,000 feet/900 meters) in each direction out from the walls of each city. That additional land will be land for their animals outside the walls of the cities.”
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 “Six of the cities that you give to the descendants of Levi will be cities to which people [can run] to be safe. If someone [accidentally] kills someone else, the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities to be safe.
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 You must also give to the descendants of Levi 42 other cities and the land around those cities, for their animals,
The cities that you give to the Levites will total forty-eight. You must give their pasturelands with them.
8 The Israeli tribes that have the most people must give them more cities than the tribes that have fewer people give. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the descendants of Levi, but the tribes that have more land must give more cities, and the tribes that have less land will give fewer 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 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,
10 “Tell this to the Israeli people: When you cross the Jordan [River] and enter the Canaan [region],
“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 you must choose some cities to which people can run to be safe/protected. If someone kills another person (accidentally/without planning to do that), the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities and be safe.
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 One of the relatives of the person who was killed may think he must avenge his relative’s death [by killing the murderer]. But in that city, the killer will be safe [because the people in that city would kill those relatives if they tried to get revenge there]. The man who killed someone accidentally [must] be put on trial in a court.
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 You must set apart six cities to be cities to which someone who killed another person accidentally may run and be safe.
You must choose six cities as cities of refuge.
14 There must be three of those cities on the east side of the Jordan [River] and three that will be [on the west side], in the Canaan region.
You must provide three cities beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. They will be cities of refuge.
15 Those six cities will be cities where Israeli people may run to and be safe, and where foreigners and other people who are living among you can also run to and be safe. Any of those people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of those cities [and be safe/protected there].
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 “But [you must consider that] anyone who kills another person with an iron weapon or with a big rock or with a piece of wood, is a murderer, and the one who killed the other person must be executed.
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.
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.
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 A relative of the person who was murdered must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him.
The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death. When he meets him, the avenger of blood must put him to death.
20 If someone shoves another person [over a cliff] or throws something at another person
If he strikes another in hatred or throws something at him, while hiding to ambush him, so that the victim dies,
21 or hits that person with his hand/fist and causes that person to die, if he did it because he hated that person, then you must consider that he is a murderer, and must be executed. A relative of the person who was killed must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds 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 “But someone might accidentally shove someone else, or accidentally throw something at another person and hit him, not because he hates that person.
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 he might drop a rock on someone that he did not see. If the one who does that does not plan to hurt anyone and does not hate the person that was killed,
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 the people of that city must decide whether the relative of the dead person [has the right to get revenge], or whether the one who killed the other person [truly did it (accidentally/without planning to do it)].
In that case, the community must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood on the basis of these rules.
25 [If they decide that the killer planned to kill the other person, they must not allow him to stay in their city. But if they decide that it was done accidentally], they must protect the killer from being killed by the dead person’s relative. They must send the killer to one of the cities where he will be safe/protected, and allow him to stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. [After that, the killer may go back to his home, because the dead person’s relative no longer has the right to get revenge].
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 “But [while the Supreme Priest is still living], the person who is in that safe city must not leave that city.
But if the accused man at any time goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he fled,
27 If he goes outside the city, and if a relative of the dead person finds him, that relative is permitted to kill that person, [and people will not consider that the relative is guilty of murder.]
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 The killer must stay in that city where he will be safe/protected until the Supreme Priest dies. [He will be safe from revenge after that, because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to be a sacrifice to atone for that murder]. After that, the killer may return to his home.
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 “You must always obey those regulations, wherever you live.
These laws must be statutes for you through all your people's generations in all the places where you live.
30 “If someone [is accused of] killing another person, the one who is accused may be executed only if there are people who saw him do it. There must be more than one witness; no one is permitted to be executed if there was only one (witness/person who saw him do it).
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 “If there is a murderer who truly should be executed, do not [spare his life by] accepting (a ransom/money for him not to be killed). He must be executed.
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 “If someone has run to a city where he will be safe/protected, do not allow him to give you money in order that you will permit him to return to his home before the Supreme Priest dies.
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 “You must execute people who truly murder others. If you did not do that, you would be causing the people who live in the land to become unacceptable to me. Anyone who deliberately kills an innocent person must be executed.
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 I am Yahweh, and I live among you Israelis, so do not spoil/pollute the land by allowing people to murder others without being punished.”
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.'”
