< Ἰησοῦς Nαυῆ 20 >
1 καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος τῷ Ἰησοῖ λέγων
And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them:
2 λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ λέγων δότε τὰς πόλεις τῶν φυγαδευτηρίων ἃς εἶπα πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ Μωυσῆ
Separate the cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses,
3 φυγαδευτήριον τῷ φονευτῇ τῷ πατάξαντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως καὶ ἔσονται ὑμῖν αἱ πόλεις φυγαδευτήριον καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται ὁ φονευτὴς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα ἕως ἂν καταστῇ ἐναντίον τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν
so that anyone who will have struck down a life unintentionally may flee to them. And so, he may be able to escape from the wrath of a close relative, who is an avenger of blood.
And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live.
And if the avenger of blood will have pursued him, they shall not deliver him into his hands. For he struck down his neighbor unknowingly, one who was not proven to have been his enemy two or three days before.
And he shall live in that city, until he stands before judgment in order to render the facts of his case, and until the death of the high priest, whoever it will be in that time. Then the one who killed a man may return, and he may enter his own city and house, from which he had fled.”
7 καὶ διέστειλεν τὴν Καδης ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Νεφθαλι καὶ Συχεμ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Εφραιμ καὶ τὴν πόλιν Αρβοκ αὕτη ἐστὶν Χεβρων ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Ιουδα
And they decreed Kedesh in Galilee, at mount Naphtali, and Shechem, at mount Ephraim, and Kiriath-Arba, which is Hebron, at mount Judah.
8 καὶ ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου ἔδωκεν Βοσορ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἀπὸ τῆς φυλῆς Ρουβην καὶ Αρημωθ ἐν τῇ Γαλααδ ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Γαδ καὶ τὴν Γαυλων ἐν τῇ Βασανίτιδι ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Μανασση
And beyond the Jordan, opposite the eastern side of Jericho, they appointed Bezer, which is situated on the plain of the wilderness of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.
9 αὗται αἱ πόλεις αἱ ἐπίκλητοι τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ καὶ τῷ προσηλύτῳ τῷ προσκειμένῳ ἐν αὐτοῖς καταφυγεῖν ἐκεῖ παντὶ παίοντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα ἕως ἂν καταστῇ ἔναντι τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν
These cities were established for all the sons of Israel, and for the new arrivals who were living among them, so that whoever had struck down a life unintentionally might flee to these, and not die at the hand of a close relative who desires to vindicate the blood that was shed, until he should stand before the people, in order to present his case.