Numbers 35

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, [near] Jericho, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho,

2 'Command the sons of Israel, and they have given to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to inhabit; also a suburb for the cities round about them ye do give to the Levites.

Give orders to the children of Israel to give to the Levites, from the heritage which is theirs, towns for themselves, with land on the outskirts of the towns.

3 And the cities have been to them to inhabit, and their suburbs are for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

These towns are to be their living-places, with land round them for their cattle and their food and all their beasts,

4 'And the suburbs of the cities which ye give to the Levites [are], from the wall of the city and without, a thousand cubits round about.

Stretching from the wall of the towns a distance of a thousand cubits all round.

5 And ye have measured from the outside of the city, the east 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; and the city [is] in the midst; this is to them the suburbs of the cities.

The measure of this space of land is to be two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, and two thousand cubits on the south and on the west and on the north, the town being in the middle. This space will be the outskirts of their towns.

6 'And the cities which ye give to the Levites [are] the six cities of refuge, which ye give for the fleeing thither of the man-slayer, and besides them ye give forty and two cities;

And the towns which you give the Levites are to be the six safe places to which the taker of life may go in flight; and in addition you are to give them forty-two towns.

7 all the cities which ye give to the Levites [are] forty and eight cities, them and their suburbs.

Forty-eight towns are to be given to the Levites, all with land round them.

8 And the cities which ye give [are] of the possession of the sons of Israel, from the many ye multiply, and from the few ye diminish; each, according to his inheritance which they inherit, doth give of his cities to the Levites.'

And these towns are to be given out of the heritage of the children of Israel, taking the greater number from those who have much, and a smaller number from those who have little: everyone, in the measure of his heritage, is to give of his property to the Levites.

9 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses,

10 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye are passing over the Jordan to the land of Canaan,

Say to the children of Israel, when you have gone over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

11 and have prepared to yourselves cities — cities of refuge they are to you — then fled thither hath a man-slayer, smiting a person unawares,

Then let certain towns be marked out as safe places to which anyone who takes the life of another in error may go in flight.

12 and the cities have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer, and the man-slayer doth not die till his standing before the company for judgment.

In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people.

13 'As to the cities which ye give — six [are] cities of refuge to you;

Six of the towns which you give will be such safe places;

14 the three of the cities ye give beyond the Jordan, and the three of the cities ye give in the land of Canaan; cities of refuge they are.

Three on the other side of Jordan and three in the land of Canaan, to be safe places for flight.

15 To sons of Israel, and to a sojourner, and to a settler in their midst, are these six cities for a refuge, for the fleeing thither of any one smiting a person unawares.

For the children of Israel and for the man from another country who is living among them, these six towns are to be safe places, where anyone causing the death of another through error may go in flight.

16 'And if with an instrument of iron he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

But if a man gives another man a blow with an iron instrument, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

17 'And if with a stone [in] the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

Or if he gives him a blow with a stone in his hand, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

18 'Or with a wooden instrument [in] the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

Or if he gave him blows with a wood instrument in his hands, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

19 'The redeemer of blood himself doth put the murderer to death; in his coming against him he doth put him to death.

He whose right it is to give punishment for blood, may himself put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

20 'And if in hatred he thrust him through, or hath cast [anything] at him by lying in wait, and he dieth;

If in his hate he put a sword through him, or waiting secretly for him sent a spear or stone at him, causing his death;

21 or in enmity he hath smitten him with his hand, and he dieth; the smiter is certainly put to death; he [is] a murderer; the redeemer of blood doth put the murderer to death in his coming against him.

Or in hate gave him blows with his hand, causing death; he who gave the death-blow is to be put to death; he is a taker of life: he whose right it is to give punishment for blood may put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

22 'And if, in an instant, without enmity, he hath thrust him through, or hath cast at him any instrument, without lying in wait;

But if a man has given a wound to another suddenly and not in hate, or without design has sent something against him,

23 or with any stone wherewith he dieth, without seeing, and causeth [it] to fall upon him, and he dieth, and he [is] not his enemy, nor seeking his evil;

Or has given him a blow with a stone, without seeing him, so causing his death, though he had nothing against him and no desire to do him evil:

24 then have the company judged between the smiter and the redeemer of blood, by these judgments.

Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules:

25 'And the company have delivered the man-slayer out of the hand of the redeemer of blood, and the company have caused him to turn back unto the city of his refuge, whither he hath fled, and he hath dwelt in it till the death of the chief priest, who hath been anointed with the holy oil.

And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil.

26 'And if the man-slayer at all go out [from] the border of the city of his refuge whither he fleeth,

But if ever he goes outside the walls of the safe town where he had gone in flight,

27 and the redeemer of blood hath found him at the outside of the border of the city of his refuge, and the redeemer of blood hath slain the man-slayer, blood is not for him;

And the giver of punishment, meeting him outside the walls of the town, puts him to death, he will not be responsible for his blood:

28 for in the city of his refuge he doth dwell till the death of the chief priest; and after the death of the chief priest doth the man-slayer turn back unto the city of his possession.

Because he had been ordered to keep inside the safe town till the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the taker of life may come back to the place of his heritage.

29 'And these things have been to you for a statute of judgment to your generations, in all your dwellings:

These rules are to be your guide in judging through all your generations wherever you may be living.

30 whoso smiteth a person, by the mouth of witnesses doth [one] slay the murderer; and one witness doth not testify against a person — to die.

Anyone causing the death of another is himself to be put to death on the word of witnesses: but the word of one witness is not enough.

31 'And ye take no atonement for the life of a murderer who [is] condemned — to die, for he is certainly put to death;

Further, no price may be given for the life of one who has taken life and whose right reward is death: he is certainly to be put to death.

32 and ye take no atonement for him to flee unto the city of his refuge, to turn back to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

And no price may be offered for one who has gone in flight to a safe town, for the purpose of letting him come back to his place before the death of the high priest.

33 'And ye profane not the land which ye [are] in, for blood profaneth the land; as to the land, it is not pardoned for blood which is shed in it except by the blood of him who sheddeth it;

So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it.

34 and ye defile not the land in which ye are dwelling, in the midst of which I do tabernacle, for I Jehovah do tabernacle in the midst of the sons of Israel.'

Do not make unclean the land where you are living and in which is my House: for I the Lord am present among the children of Israel.