Liber Numeri 35

1 haec quoque locutus est Dominus ad Mosen in campestribus Moab super Iordanem contra Hiericho

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

2 praecipe filiis Israhel 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 quae a muris civitatum forinsecus per circuitum mille passuum spatio tendentur

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

5 contra orientem duo milia erunt cubiti et contra meridiem similiter duo milia ad mare quoque quod respicit occidentem eadem mensura erit et septentrionalis plaga aequali termino finietur eruntque urbes in medio et foris suburbana

And you shall 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 quae Levitis dabitis sex erunt in fugitivorum auxilia separata ut fugiat ad ea qui fuderit sanguinem exceptis his alia quadraginta duo oppida

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

7 id est simul quadraginta octo cum suburbanis suis

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

8 ipsaeque urbes quae dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israhel ab his qui plus habent plures auferentur et qui minus pauciores singuli iuxta mensuram hereditatis suae dabunt oppida Levitis

And as for the cities which you shall give out of the possession of the children of Israel, from those [that have] much [you shall give] much, and from those that have less you 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 Mosen

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

10 loquere filiis Israhel et dices ad eos quando transgressi fueritis Iordanem in terram Chanaan

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, You are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan.

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

And you 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 eum non poterit 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 quae ad fugitivorum subsidia separantur

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

14 tres erunt trans Iordanem et tres in terra Chanaan

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

15 tam filiis Israhel 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 there 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 strike 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 strike 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 strike 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 adprehenderit eum percutiet

The avenger of blood himself shall kill the murderer: whenever he shall meet him he shall kill him.

20 si per odium quis hominem inpulerit 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 struck him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that struck 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 kill the murderer when he meets him.

22 quod si fortuito 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 quicquam horum fecerit

or [strike 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 conprobatum 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 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 quae exulibus deputatae 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 haec 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, you shall kill 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 you 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

You 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 vestrae quae insontium cruore maculatur nec aliter expiari potest nisi per eius sanguinem qui alterius sanguinem fuderit

So shall you not pollute with murder the land in which you 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 Israhel

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