Numbers 35

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

The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho. He told him,

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.

“Order the Israelites to provide from their land allocation towns for the Levites to live in and pastures around 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.

The towns are for them to live in, and the pastures will be for their herds and their flocks—for all their livestock.

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.

The pastures around the towns you give to the Levites are to extend out from the wall a thousand cubits on all sides.

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.

Measure two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, two thousand on the south, two thousand on the west, and two thousand on the north, with the town in the middle. These areas will be their pastures around the 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;

Six of the towns you give the Levites are to be sanctuary towns, where a person who kills someone can run for protection. As well as these towns, give the Levites forty-two more.

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

The total number of towns you are to give the Levites is forty-eight, along with their pastures.

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.'

The towns that you allocate to be given to the Levites from the territory of the Israelites will be more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. The number will be in proportion to the size of the land allocation of each tribe.”

9 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

The Lord told 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,

“Tell the Israelites: ‘When you cross over the Jordan into 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,

choose towns as your sanctuary towns, so a person who kills someone by mistake may run there.

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.

These towns will be for you places of sanctuary from those seeking revenge, so that the killer will not die until they are tried in court.

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

The towns you choose will be your six sanctuary towns.

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.

Choose three cities on the other side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.

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.

These six cities will be places of sanctuary for the Israelites and for foreigners or settlers among them, so that anyone who kills a person by mistake may run there.

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 anyone deliberately hits someone with something made of iron and kills them, that person is a murderer and must be executed.

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.

If anyone picks up something made of stone that could be used as a weapon and hits someone with it, and kills them, that person is a murderer and must be executed.

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.

If anyone picks up something made of wood that could be used as a weapon and hits someone with it, and kills them, that person is a murderer and must be executed.

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

The avenger is to execute the murderer. When he finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

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

Similarly, if anyone hates someone and knocks them down or deliberately throws something at them, and they're killed;

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 if someone hits another with his hand and they die, the one who hit him must be executed because he is a murderer. When the avenger finds the murderer, he is to kill 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 anyone knocks someone else down without meaning to and without hating them, or throws something at them not meaning to hurt them,

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 carelessly drops a heavy stone that kills them, but not as an enemy or intending to harm them,

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

then the community must judge between the killer and the avenger following these regulations.

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.

The court is to protect the killer from being attacked by the avenger and must return him to the sanctuary town that he ran to, and he must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with 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 the killer ever leaves the limits of sanctuary town where they ran to,

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 avenger finds him them outside his sanctuary town and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of murder,

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 the killer has to stay in his sanctuary town until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest are they allowed to return to the land they own.

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

These regulations apply to all future generations wherever you live.

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.

If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be executed based on the evidence given by witnesses, plural. No one is to be executed based on the evidence given by a single witness.

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

You are not to accept payment instead of executing a murderer who has been found guilty—they must be executed.

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.

Also you are not allowed to accept payment for a person who runs to a sanctuary town and permit them to return and live on their own land 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;

Don't pollute the land where you live because bloodshed pollutes the land, and the land where blood is shed can't be purified except by the blood of the one who shed 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.'

Don't make the land impure where you live because I live there too. I am the Lord, and I live with the Israelites.”