Liber Numeri 35

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

And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying,

2 Praecipe filiis Israel ut dent Levitis de possessionibus suis

Command the children of Israel, that of the inheritance of their possession they give unto the Levites cities to dwell in; and a suburb for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites.

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

And the cities shall they have to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

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

And the suburbs of the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be from the walls of the city outward, a 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 aequali termino finietur. eruntque urbes in medio, et foris suburbana.

And ye shall measure, without the city, the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst: they shall have this as suburbs of the cities.

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

And [among] the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither, — and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities:

7 id est, simul quadraginta octo cum suburbanis suis.

all the cities that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs.

8 Ipsaeque urbes, quae dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israel, ab his, qui plus habent, plures auferentur: et qui minus, pauciores. singuli iuxta mensuram hereditatis suae dabunt oppida Levitis.

And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have much ye shall take much, and from them that have little ye shall take little; each one according to his inheritance which he will inherit shall give of his cities to the Levites.

9 Ait Dominus ad Moysen:

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

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

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

11 decernite quae urbes esse debeant in praesidia fugitivorum, qui nolentes sanguinem fuderint:

then ye shall appoint for yourselves cities: cities of refuge shall they be for you; that a manslayer may flee thither, who without intent smiteth a person mortally.

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

And ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment.

13 De ipsis autem urbibus, quae ad fugitivorum subsidia separantur,

And the cities that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you.

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

Three cities shall ye give on this side of the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.

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

For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them shall these six cities be a refuge, that one who smiteth a person mortally without intent may flee thither.

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

And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death.

17 Si lapidem iecerit, et ictus occubuerit: similiter punietur.

And if he have smitten him with a stone from the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death.

18 Si ligno percussus interierit: percussoris sanguine vindicabitur.

Or if he have smitten him with an instrument of wood, in the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death;

19 Propinquus occisi, homicidam interficiet, statim ut apprehenderit eum.

the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death.

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

And if he thrust at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die,

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

or from enmity smite him with his hand, so that he die, he that smote him shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him. —

22 Quod si fortuitu, et absque odio,

But if he have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally,

23 et inimicitiis quidquam horum fecerit,

or [have smitten him] with any stone wherewith one may die, without seeing him, and have cast it upon him so that he die, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:

24 et hoc audiente populo fuerit comprobatum, atque inter percussorem et propinquum sanguinis quaestio 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 assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; and he shall abide in it until the death of the high-priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

26 Si interfector extra fines urbium, quae exulibus deputatae sunt,

But if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled,

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

and the avenger of blood find him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer, there shall be no blood-guiltiness upon him;

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

for the manslayer should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high-priest; but after the death of the high-priest he may return into the land of his possession.

29 Haec sempiterna erunt, et legitima in cunctis habitationibus vestris.

And this shall be unto you a statute of right throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

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

Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die.

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

And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death.

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

And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

33 ne polluatis terram habitationis vestrae, quae insontium cruore maculatur: nec aliter expiari potest, nisi per eius sanguinem, qui alterius sanguinem fuderit.

And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, 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 that ye inhabit, in the midst whereof I dwell; for I am Jehovah who dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.