Numbers 35

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

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, [near] Jericho, saying,

2 “Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites cities to dwell in out of their inheritance. You shall give pasture lands for the cities around them to the Levites.

'Command the sons of Israel, and they have given to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to inhabit; also a suburb for the cities round about them ye do give to the Levites.

3 They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.

And the cities have been to them to inhabit, and their suburbs are for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

4 “The pasture lands 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.

'And the suburbs of the cities which ye give to the Levites [are], from the wall of the city and without, a thousand cubits round about.

5 You 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 middle. This shall be the pasture lands of their cities.

And ye have measured from the outside of the city, the east quarter, two thousand by the cubit, and the south quarter, two thousand by the cubit, and the west quarter, two thousand by the cubit, and the north quarter, two thousand by the cubit; and the city [is] in the midst; this is 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 man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.

'And the cities which ye give to the Levites [are] the six cities of refuge, which ye give for the fleeing thither of the man-slayer, and besides them ye give forty and two cities;

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

all the cities which ye give to the Levites [are] forty and eight cities, them and their suburbs.

8 Concerning 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 some of his cities to the Levites.”

And the cities which ye give [are] of the possession of the sons of Israel, from the many ye multiply, and from the few ye diminish; each, according to his inheritance which they inherit, doth give of his cities to the Levites.'

9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

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

'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye are passing over the Jordan to the land of Canaan,

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

and have prepared to yourselves cities — cities of refuge they are to you — then fled thither hath a man-slayer, smiting a person unawares,

12 The cities shall be for your refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

and the cities have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer, and the man-slayer doth not die till his standing before the company for judgment.

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

'As to the cities which ye give — six [are] cities of refuge to you;

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

the three of the cities ye give beyond the Jordan, and the three of the cities ye give in the land of Canaan; cities of refuge they are.

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

To sons of Israel, and to a sojourner, and to a settler in their midst, are these six cities for a refuge, for the fleeing thither of any one smiting a person unawares.

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.

'And if with an instrument of iron he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

17 If 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.

'And if with a stone [in] the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

18 Or 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.

'Or with a wooden instrument [in] the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death.

'The redeemer of blood himself doth put the murderer to death; in his coming against him he doth put him to death.

20 If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled something at him while lying in wait, so that he died,

'And if in hatred he thrust him through, or hath cast [anything] at him by lying in wait, and he dieth;

21 or in hostility 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.

or in enmity he hath smitten him with his hand, and he dieth; the smiter is certainly put to death; he [is] a murderer; the redeemer of blood doth put the murderer to death in his coming against him.

22 “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,

'And if, in an instant, without enmity, he hath thrust him through, or hath cast at him any instrument, without lying in wait;

23 or 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 and not seeking his harm,

or with any stone wherewith he dieth, without seeing, and causeth [it] to fall upon him, and he dieth, and he [is] not his enemy, nor seeking his evil;

24 then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.

then have the company judged between the smiter and the redeemer of blood, by these judgments.

25 The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

'And the company have delivered the man-slayer out of the hand of the redeemer of blood, and the company have caused him to turn back unto the city of his refuge, whither he hath fled, and he hath dwelt in it till the death of the chief priest, who hath been anointed with the holy oil.

26 “‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,

'And if the man-slayer at all go out [from] the border of the city of his refuge whither he fleeth,

27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,

and the redeemer of blood hath found him at the outside of the border of the city of his refuge, and the redeemer of blood hath slain the man-slayer, blood is not for him;

28 because 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 man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

for in the city of his refuge he doth dwell till the death of the chief priest; and after the death of the chief priest doth the man-slayer turn back unto the city of his possession.

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

'And these things have been to you for a statute of judgment to your generations, in all your dwellings:

30 “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.

whoso smiteth a person, by the mouth of witnesses doth [one] slay the murderer; and one witness doth not testify against a person — to die.

31 “‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall surely be put to death.

'And ye take no atonement for the life of a murderer who [is] condemned — to die, for he is certainly put to death;

32 “‘You shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

and ye take no atonement for him to flee unto the city of his refuge, to turn back to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

33 “‘So you shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.

'And ye profane not the land which ye [are] in, for blood profaneth the land; as to the land, it is not pardoned for blood which is shed in it except by the blood of him who sheddeth it;

34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell among the children of Israel.’”

and ye defile not the land in which ye are dwelling, in the midst of which I do tabernacle, for I Jehovah do tabernacle in the midst of the sons of Israel.'