Numbers 35

1 And the Lord also spoke these things to Moses in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho:

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

2 “Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may give to the Levites, from their possessions,

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 cities as dwelling places, with their surrounding suburbs, so that they may lodge in the towns, and so that the suburbs may be for cattle and beasts of burden.

And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and their enclosures shall be for their cattle and all their beasts.

4 The suburbs shall extend from the outer walls of the cities, all around, for the space of one thousand steps.

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 Facing the east, there shall be two thousand cubits, and facing the south, similarly, there shall be two thousand cubits. Toward the sea, also, which looks out toward the west, there shall be the same measure, and the northern region shall be bounded by equal limits. And the cities shall be in the center, and the suburbs shall be outside.

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 Now, from the towns which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for the assistance of fugitives, so that he who has shed blood may flee to them. And, aside from these, there shall be forty-two other towns,

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 that is, all together forty-eight with their suburbs.

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

8 And concerning these cities, which shall be given from the possessions of the sons of Israel: from those who have more, more shall be taken, and from those who have less, less shall be taken. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the measure of their inheritance.”

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 The Lord said to Moses:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

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

11 discern which cities ought to be for the protection of fugitives who have shed blood unwillingly.

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 And when a fugitive is in these, the kinsman of the deceased shall not be able to kill him, until he stands in the sight of the multitude and his case is judged.

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 Then, among those cities which are separated for relief to fugitives,

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

14 three shall be across the Jordan, and three in the land of Canaan,

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

15 as much for the sons of Israel as for newcomers and sojourners, so that anyone who has shed blood unwillingly may flee to these places.

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 If anyone will have struck someone with iron, and he who was struck will have died, then he shall be guilty of homicide, and he himself shall die.

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 If he will have thrown a stone, and he who has been struck lies dead, then he shall be punished similarly.

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 If he who has been struck with wood passes away, he shall be avenged by the blood of the one who struck him.

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 The close relative of the deceased shall put to death the murderer; as soon as he apprehends him, he shall put him to death.

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

20 If, out of hatred, anyone assaults a man, or throws anything at him with ill intent,

And if he should thrust him through enmity, or cast any thing upon him from an ambuscade, and the man should die,

21 or, while being his enemy, strikes him with his hand, and so he has died, the attacker shall be guilty of murder. The kinsman of the deceased, as soon as he finds him, shall cut his throat.

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 But if by chance, and without hatred

But if he should thrust him suddenly, not through enmity, or cast any thing upon him, not from an ambuscade,

23 or animosity, he will have done any of these things,

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 and this has been proven in the hearing of the people, and the questions have been aired, between the one who struck and the close relative,

then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments.

25 then the innocent one shall be freed from the hand of the revenger, and he shall be returned by this judgment into the city to which he had fled, and he shall stay there until the high priest, who has been anointed with the holy oil, dies.

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 If the one who has killed has been found beyond the limits of the cities which have been assigned to the exiled,

But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge,

27 and he has been struck by him who is avenging blood, he who killed him shall not be harmed.

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 For the fugitive ought to have resided in the city, until the death of the high priest. Then, after he is dead, the one who has killed shall be returned to his own land.

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 These things shall be a perpetual ordinance in all your habitations.

And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgment throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

30 The punishment of a murderer shall be based upon testimony; but no one shall be condemned upon the testimony of only one person.

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 You shall not accept money from him who is guilty of blood, and he shall be put to death promptly.

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 Exiles and fugitives, prior to the death of the high priest, are by no means able to be returned to their own cities.

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 Do not pollute the land of your habitation, so as to stain it with the blood of the innocent; neither is it able to be expiated in any way other than by the blood of him who has shed the blood of another.

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 And so shall your possession be cleansed, while I myself am abiding with you. For I am the Lord, who lives among the sons of Israel.”

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.