Numbers 35

1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses to the west of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,

2 “Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites cities to dwell in out of their inheritance. You shall give pasture lands for the cities around them to the Levites.

Give orders to the children of Israel, and they shall give to the Levites cities to dwell in from the lot of their possession, and they shall give to the Levites the suburbs of the cities round about them.

3 They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.

And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and their enclosures shall be for their cattle and all their beasts.

4 “The pasture lands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it.

And the suburbs of the cities which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outwards two thousand cubits round about.

5 You shall measure outside of 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 middle. This shall be the pasture lands of their cities.

And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and your city shall be in the midst of this, and the suburbs of the cities [as described].

6 “The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.

And you shall give the cities to the Levites, the six cities of refuge which you shall give for the slayer to flee there, and in addition to these, forty-two cities.

7 All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their pasture lands.

You shall give to the Levites in all forty-eight cities, them and their suburbs.

8 Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.”

And as for the cities which you shall give out of the possession of the children of Israel, from those [that have] much [you shall give] much, and from those that have less you shall give less: they shall give of their cities to the Levites each one according to his inheritance which they shall inherit.

9 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, You are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan.

11 then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

And you shall appoint to yourselves cities: they shall be to you cities of refuge for the slayer to flee to, every one who has killed another unintentionally.

12 The cities shall be for your refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgement.

And the cities shall be to you places of refuge from the avenger of blood, and the slayer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

13 The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

And the cities which you shall assign, [even] the six cities, shall be places of refuge for you.

14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.

You shall assign three cities on the other side of Jordan, and you shall assign three cities in the land of Chanaan.

15 These six cities shall be refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreigner living amongst them, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

It shall be a place of refuge for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for him that sojourns among you; these cities shall be for a place of refuge, for every one to flee there who has killed a man unintentionally.

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

And if he should strike him with an iron instrument, and the man should die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

17 If he struck 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.

And if he should strike him with a stone [thrown] from his hand, whereby a man may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

18 Or if he struck 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.

And if he should strike him with an instrument of wood from his hand, whereby he may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

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

The avenger of blood himself shall kill the murderer: whenever he shall meet him he shall kill him.

20 If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled something at him while lying in wait, so that he died,

And if he should thrust him through enmity, or cast any thing upon him from an ambuscade, and the man should die,

21 or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck 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.

or if he have struck him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that struck him be put to death by all means, he is a murderer: let the murderer by all means be put to death: the avenger of blood shall kill the murderer when he meets him.

22 “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,

But if he should thrust him suddenly, not through enmity, or cast any thing upon him, not from an ambuscade,

23 or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him so that he died, and he was not his enemy and not seeking his harm,

or [strike him] with any stone, whereby a man may die, unawares, and it should fall upon him, and he should die, but he was not his enemy, nor sought to hurt him;

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

then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments.

25 The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

And the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he fled for refuge; and he shall dwell there till the death of the high-priest, whom they anointed with the holy oil.

26 “‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,

But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge,

27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,

and the avenger of blood should find him without the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood should kill the slayer, he is not guilty.

28 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 man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

For he ought to have remained in the city of refuge till the high-priest died; and after the death of the high-priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession.

29 “‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgment throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

30 “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.

Whoever kills a man, you shall kill the murderer on the testimony of witnesses; and one witness shall not testify against a soul that he should die.

31 “‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall surely be put to death.

And you shall not accept ransoms for life from a murderer who is worthy of death, for he shall be surely put to death.

32 “‘You shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

You shall not accept a ransom [to excuse] his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest.

33 “‘So you shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.

So shall you not pollute with murder the land in which you dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it.

34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell amongst the children of Israel.’”

And you shall not defile the land whereon you dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.