Joshua 20

1 The LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Joshua,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'Appoint the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses.

3 that the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

Do this so that one who unintentionally kills a person can go there. These cities will be a place of refuge from anyone who seeks to avenge the blood of a person who was killed.

4 He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live amongst them.

He will run to one of those cities and will stand at the entrance of the city gate, and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they will take him into the city and give him a place for him to live among them.

5 If the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbour unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before.

If one of them comes to try to avenge the blood of the person who was killed, then the people of the city must not hand the one who killed him over to the authorities. They must not do this because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, and he had no hatred toward him in the past.

6 He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgement, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’”

He must stay in that city until he has stood before the assembly for judgment, until the death of the one who was serving as high priest in those days. Then the one who had accidentally killed the person may return to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.'”

7 They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

So the Israelites selected Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (the same as Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

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

Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau from the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth Gilead, from the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives amongst them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.

These were the cities selected for all the people of Israel and for the foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who killed a person unintentionally could run to them for safety. This person would not die by the hand of the one who wanted to avenge the blood that was shed, until the accused person would first stand before the assembly.