Liber Numeri 35

1 Hæc quoque locutus est Dominus ad Moysen in campestribus Moab supra Iordanem, contra Iericho:

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

2 Præcipe filiis Israel ut dent Levitis de possessionibus suis

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 urbes ad habitandum, et suburbana earum per circuitum: ut ipsi in oppidis maneant, et suburbana sint pecoribus ac iumentis:

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

4 quæ a muris civitatum forinsecus, per circuitum, mille passuum spatio tendentur.

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

5 Contra Orientem duo millia erunt cubiti, et contra Meridiem similiter erunt duo millia: ad mare quoque, quod respicit ad Occidentem, eadem mensura erit, et septentrionalis plaga æquali termino finietur. Eruntque urbes in medio, et foris suburbana.

And thou shalt 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 De ipsis autem oppidis, quæ Levitis dabitis, sex erunt in fugitivorum auxilia separata, ut fugiat ad ea qui fuderit sanguinem: et exceptis his, alia quadraginta duo oppida,

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

7 id est, simul quadraginta octo cum suburbanis suis.

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

8 Ipsæque urbes, quæ dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israel, ab his, qui plus habent, plures auferentur: et qui minus, pauciores. Singuli iuxta mensuram hereditatis suæ dabunt oppida Levitis.

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

9 Ait Dominus ad Moysen:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

10 Loquere filiis Israel, et dices ad eos: Quando transgressi fueritis Iordanem in Terram Chanaan,

Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan.

11 decernite quæ urbes esse debeant in præsidia fugitivorum, qui nolentes sanguinem fuderint:

And ye 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 in quibus cum fuerit profugus, cognatus occisi non poterit eum occidere, donec stet in conspectu multitudinis, et causa illius iudicetur.

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 De ipsis autem urbibus, quæ ad fugitivorum subsidia separantur,

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

14 tres erunt trans Iordanem, et tres in Terra Chanaan,

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

15 tam filiis Israel quam advenis atque peregrinis, ut confugiat ad eas qui nolens sanguinem fuderit.

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 thither who has killed a man unintentionally.

16 Si quis ferro percusserit, et mortuus fuerit qui percussus est: reus erit homicidii, et ipse morietur.

And if he should smite 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 Si lapidem iecerit, et ictus occubuerit: similiter punietur.

And if he should smite 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 Si ligno percussus interierit: percussoris sanguine vindicabitur.

And if he should smite 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 Propinquus occisi, homicidam interficiet, statim ut apprehenderit eum, interficiet.

The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: whensoever he shall meet him he shall slay him.

20 Si per odium quis hominem impulerit, vel iecerit quippiam in eum per insidias:

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

21 aut cum esset inimicus, manu percusserit, et ille mortuus fuerit: percussor, homicidii reus erit. Cognatus occisi statim ut invenerit eum, iugulabit.

or if he have smitten him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that smote 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 slay the murderer when he meets him.

22 Quod si fortuitu, et absque odio,

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

23 et inimicitiis quidquam horum fecerit,

or [smite 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 et hoc audiente populo fuerit comprobatum, atque inter percussorem et propinquum sanguinis quæstio ventilata:

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

25 liberabitur innocens de ultoris manu, et reducetur per sententiam in urbem, ad quam confugerat, manebitque ibi, donec sacerdos magnus, qui oleo sancto unctus est, moriatur.

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 Si interfector extra fines urbium, quæ exulibus deputatæ sunt,

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

27 fuerit inventus, et percussus ab eo qui ultor est sanguinis: absque noxa erit qui eum occiderit.

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 Debuerat enim profugus usque ad mortem Pontificis in urbe residere: postquam autem ille obierit, homicida revertetur in terram suam.

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 Hæc sempiterna erunt, et legitima in cunctis habitationibus vestris.

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

30 Homicida sub testibus punietur: ad unius testimonium nullus condemnabitur.

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

31 Non accipietis pretium ab eo, qui reus est sanguinis, statim et ipse morietur.

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

32 Exules et profugi ante mortem Pontificis nullo modo in urbes suas reverti poterunt:

Ye 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 ne polluatis terram habitationis vestræ, quæ insontium cruore maculatur: nec aliter expiari potest, nisi per eius sanguinem, qui alterius sanguinem fuderit.

So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye 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 Atque ita emundabitur vestra possessio, me commorante vobiscum. Ego enim sum Dominus qui habito inter filios Israel.

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