Numbers 35

¹And the Lord said to Moses in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho,

²Give orders to the children of Israel to give to the Levites, from the heritage which is theirs, towns for themselves, with land on the outskirts of the towns.

³These towns are to be their living-places, with land round them for their cattle and their food and all their beasts,

⁴Stretching from the wall of the towns a distance of a thousand cubits all round.

⁵The measure of this space of land is to be two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, and two thousand cubits on the south and on the west and on the north, the town being in the middle. This space will be the outskirts of their towns.

⁶And the towns which you give the Levites are to be the six safe places to which the taker of life may go in flight; and in addition you are to give them forty-two towns.

⁷Forty-eight towns are to be given to the Levites, all with land round them.

⁸And these towns are to be given out of the heritage of the children of Israel, taking the greater number from those who have much, and a smaller number from those who have little: everyone, in the measure of his heritage, is to give of his property to the Levites.

⁹And the Lord said to Moses,

¹⁰Say to the children of Israel, when you have gone over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

¹¹Then let certain towns be marked out as safe places to which anyone who takes the life of another in error may go in flight.

¹²In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people.

¹³Six of the towns which you give will be such safe places;

¹⁴Three on the other side of Jordan and three in the land of Canaan, to be safe places for flight.

¹⁵For the children of Israel and for the man from another country who is living among them, these six towns are to be safe places, where anyone causing the death of another through error may go in flight.

¹⁶But if a man gives another man a blow with an iron instrument, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁷Or if he gives him a blow with a stone in his hand, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁸Or if he gave him blows with a wood instrument in his hands, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁹He whose right it is to give punishment for blood, may himself put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

²⁰If in his hate he put a sword through him, or waiting secretly for him sent a spear or stone at him, causing his death;

²¹Or in hate gave him blows with his hand, causing death; he who gave the death-blow is to be put to death; he is a taker of life: he whose right it is to give punishment for blood may put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him.

²²But if a man has given a wound to another suddenly and not in hate, or without design has sent something against him,

²³Or has given him a blow with a stone, without seeing him, so causing his death, though he had nothing against him and no desire to do him evil:

²⁴Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules:

²⁵And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil.

²⁶But if ever he goes outside the walls of the safe town where he had gone in flight,

²⁷And the giver of punishment, meeting him outside the walls of the town, puts him to death, he will not be responsible for his blood:

²⁸Because he had been ordered to keep inside the safe town till the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the taker of life may come back to the place of his heritage.

²⁹These rules are to be your guide in judging through all your generations wherever you may be living.

³⁰Anyone causing the death of another is himself to be put to death on the word of witnesses: but the word of one witness is not enough.

³¹Further, no price may be given for the life of one who has taken life and whose right reward is death: he is certainly to be put to death.

³²And no price may be offered for one who has gone in flight to a safe town, for the purpose of letting him come back to his place before the death of the high priest.

³³So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it.

³⁴Do not make unclean the land where you are living and in which is my House: for I the Lord am present among the children of Israel.

Numbers 35

¹The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

²"Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and you shall give suburbs for the cities around them to the Levites.

³The cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their substance, and for all their animals.

⁴"The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it.

⁵You shall measure outside of 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.

⁶"The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to: and besides them you shall give forty-two cities.

⁷All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their suburbs.

⁸Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many; and from the few you shall take few: everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give of his cities to the Levites."

⁹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁰"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

¹¹then you shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

¹²The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

¹³The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

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

¹⁵For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

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

¹⁷If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which 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 meets him, he shall put him to death.

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

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

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

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

²⁴then the congregation shall judge between the striker 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, where he was fled: and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶"'But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, where he flees,

²⁷and the avenger of blood find him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill 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.

²⁹"'These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

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

³¹"'Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.

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

³³"'So you shall not pollute the land in which you are: for blood, it pollutes the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him who shed it.

³⁴You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, the Lord, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.'"