Numbers 35

¹And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

²Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and suburbs for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites.

³And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts.

⁴And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

⁵And ye shall measure without the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.

⁶And the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee unto: and besides them ye shall give forty and two cities.

⁷All the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities; them shall ye give with their suburbs.

⁸And concerning the cities which ye shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many ye shall take many; and from the few ye shall take few: every one according to his inheritance which he inheriteth shall give of his cities unto the Levites.

⁹And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

¹⁰Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

¹¹then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer that killeth any person unwittingly may flee thither.

¹²And the cities shall be unto you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation for judgment.

¹³And the cities which ye shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

¹⁴Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.

¹⁵For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that every one that killeth any person unwittingly may flee thither.

¹⁶But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁹The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death: when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death.

²⁰And if he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

²¹or in enmity smote him with his hand, so that he died; he that smote him shall surely be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him.

²²But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him anything without lying in wait,

²³or with any stone, whereby a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm;

²⁴then the congregation shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances;

²⁵and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, whither he fleeth,

²⁷and the avenger of blood find him without the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slay the manslayer; he shall not be guilty of blood,

²⁸because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.

²⁹And these things shall be for a statuteandordinance unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³⁰Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.

³¹Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.

³²And ye shall take no ransom for him that is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

³³So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

³⁴And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Jehovah, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.

Numbers 35

¹Again the LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho:

²“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities.

³The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock.

⁴The pasturelands around the cities you are to give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the wall on every side.

⁵You are also to measure two thousand cubits outside the city on the east, two thousand on the south, two thousand on the west, and two thousand on the north, with the city in the center. These areas will serve as larger pasturelands for the cities.

⁶Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.

⁷The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, with their corresponding pasturelands.

⁸The cities that you apportion from the territory of the Israelites should be given to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one.”

⁹Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

¹¹designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

¹²You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

¹³The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge.

¹⁴Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge.

¹⁵These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

¹⁶If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

¹⁷Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

¹⁸If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

¹⁹The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.

²⁰Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him,

²¹or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

²²But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally,

²³or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him,

²⁴then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.

²⁵The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled

²⁷and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed

²⁸because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns.

²⁹This will be a statutory ordinance for you for the generations to come, wherever you live.

³⁰If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

³¹You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.

³²Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.

³³Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

³⁴Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”