Numbers 35

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said,

And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

2 “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.

Command the sons of Israel, that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in. And ye shall give suburbs for the cities round about them to the Levites.

3 The Levites will have these cities to live in. The pastureland will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their animals.

And they shall have the cities to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts.

4 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.

And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

5 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.

And ye shall measure outside the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.

6 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.

And of the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, there shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee to. And besides them ye shall give forty-two cities.

7 The cities that you give to the Levites will total forty-eight. You must give their pasturelands with them.

All the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, them with their suburbs.

8 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.”

And concerning the cities which ye shall give of the possession of the sons of Israel, from the many ye shall take many, and from the few ye shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give of his cities to the Levites.

9 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

11 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.

then ye shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

12 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.

And the cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

13 You must choose six cities as cities of refuge.

And the cities which ye shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

14 You must provide three cities beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. They will be cities of refuge.

Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities ye shall give in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.

15 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.

For the sons of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, these six cities shall be for refuge, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

16 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.

But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

17 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.

And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

18 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.

Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

19 The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death. When he meets him, the avenger of blood must put him to death.

The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death.

20 If he strikes another in hatred or throws something at him, while hiding to ambush him, so that the victim dies,

And if he thrust him from hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

21 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.

or in enmity smote him with his hand, so that he died, he who smote him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.

22 But if an accused man suddenly hits a victim without premeditated hate or throws something that hits the victim without lying in wait

But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him anything without lying in wait,

23 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.

or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, nor sought his harm,

24 In that case, the community must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood on the basis of these rules.

then the congregation shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.

25 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.

And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge where he fled. And he shall dwell in it until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

26 But if the accused man at any time goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he fled,

But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,

27 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.

and the avenger of blood find him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,

28 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.

because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.

29 These laws must be statutes for you through all your people's generations in all the places where you live.

And these things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

30 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.

Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person so that he dies.

31 Also, you must not accept ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of murder. He must certainly be put to death.

Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.

32 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.

And ye shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

33 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.

So ye shall not pollute the land in which ye are, for blood, it pollutes the land. And no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.

34 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.'”

And thou shall not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell, for I, Jehovah, dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel.