Josua 20

1 Og HERREN talede til Josua og sagde

And Jehovah spake unto Joshua, saying,

2 "Tal til Israeliterne og sig: Afgiv de Tilflugtsbyer, jeg talede til eder om ved Moses,

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by Moses,

3 for at en Manddraber, der uforsætligt og af Vanvare slår en ihjel, kan ty til dem, så at de kan være eder Tilflugtssteder mod Blodhævneren.

that the manslayer that killeth any person unwittingly [and] unawares may flee thither: and they shall be unto you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

4 Når han tyr hen til en af disse Byer og stiller sig i Byportens Indgang og forebringer sin Sag for Byens Ældste, skal de optage ham i Byen hos sig og anvise ham et Sted, hvor han kan bo bos dem;

And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5 og når Blodhævneren forfølger ham, må de ikke udlevere Manddraberen til ham, thi han har slået sin Næste ihjel af Vanvare uden i Forvejen at have båret Nag til ham;

And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he smote his neighbor unawares, and hated him not beforetime.

6 han skal blive boende i denne By, indtil han har været stillet for Menighedens Domstol, eller den Mand, som på den Tid er Ypperstepræst, dør; derefter kan Manddraberen vende tilbage til sin By og sit Hjem, den By, han er flygtet fra."

And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the manslayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

7 Da helligede de Kedesj i Galilæa i Naftalis Bjerge, Sikem i Efrims Bjerge og Kirjat-Arba, det er Hebron, i Judas Bjerge.

And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah.

8 Og østen for Jordan afgav de Bezer i Ørkenen, på Højsletten, af Rubens Stamme, Ramot i Gilead at Gads Stamme og Golan i Basan af Manasses Stamme.

And beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 Det var de Byer, som fastsattes for alle Israeliterne og de fremmede, som bor iblandt dem, i det Øjemed at enhver, der uforsætligt slår en ihjel, kan ty derhen og undgå Døden for Blodhævnerens Hånd, før han har været stillet for Menighedens Domstol.

These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person unwittingly might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.