Numbers 35
35
The Levites Receive Their Towns
1On the plains of Moab, the Lord spoke to Moses. It was by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, 2“Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in. The towns must come from the shares of land the people will have as their own. Also give the Levites the grasslands around the towns. 3Then the Levites will have towns to live in. They will also have grasslands for their cattle and all their other livestock.
4“The grasslands around each town you give them will go out to 1,500 feet from the town wall. 5Outside each town, the east side will measure 3,000 feet. So will the south side, the west side and the north side. The town must be in the center. And the Levites will own the grasslands around each town.
Cities to Run to for Safety
6“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities to go to for safety. A person who has killed someone can run to one of them. Also give the Levites 42 other towns. 7You must give the Levites a total of 48 towns. Also give them the grasslands around those towns. 8The towns you give the Levites must come from the land the Israelites have as their own. So the number you give from each tribe will depend on the size of that tribe’s share. Take many towns from a tribe that has many towns. But take only a few towns from a tribe that has only a few.”
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 10“Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘You will soon go across the Jordan River. You will enter Canaan. 11When you do, choose the cities to go to for safety. People who have killed someone by accident can run to one of those cities. 12They will be places of safety for them. People will be safe there from those who want to kill them. Then anyone charged with murder will not die before their case has been brought to the community court. 13Six towns will be the cities you can go to for safety. 14Three will be east of the Jordan River. The other three will be in Canaan. 15Those six towns will be places where the Israelites can go for safety. Outsiders living in Israel can also go to them for safety. So anyone who has killed another person by accident can run there.
16“ ‘Suppose a person uses an iron object to hit and kill someone. Then that person is a murderer and must be put to death. 17Or suppose a person is holding a stone that could kill. And they use it to hit and kill someone. Then that person is a murderer and must be put to death. 18Or suppose a person is holding a wooden object that could kill. And they use it to hit and kill someone. Then that person is a murderer and must be put to death. 19The dead person’s nearest male relative must kill the murderer. When he meets up with him, he must kill the murderer. 20What if a person makes evil plans against someone else? And what if that person pushes them so that they die? Or what if that person throws something at them so that they die? 21Or what if that person hits another person with a fist so that the other dies? Then the person who does any of those things must be put to death. That person is a murderer. The dead person’s nearest male relative must kill the murderer. When he meets up with him, he must kill the murderer.
22“ ‘But what if a person suddenly pushes someone else without being angry? Or what if that person throws something at someone else without meaning to? 23Or what if that person does not see the other person and drops a stone on them that kills them? He was not the dead person’s enemy. He did not mean to harm them. 24Then the court must decide between the person who did the act and the nearest male relative of the one who was killed. Here are the rules the court must follow. 25The court must provide a safe place for the person accused of murder. It must keep the one accused of murder safe from those who want to kill them. The court must send the accused person back to the city they ran to for safety. The accused person must stay there until the high priest dies. That priest has been anointed with holy oil.
26“ ‘But suppose the accused person goes outside that city. 27And suppose the dead person’s nearest male relative finds them outside the city. Then the relative can kill the accused person. The relative will not be guilty of murder. 28The accused person must stay in that city until the high priest dies. Only then may they return home.
29“ ‘This is what the law requires of you for all time to come. It will apply to you no matter where you live.
30“ ‘Suppose a person kills someone. Then that person must be put to death as a murderer. But do it only when there are witnesses who can tell what happened. Do not put anyone to death if only one witness tells what happened.
31“ ‘Do not accept payment for a murderer’s life. A murderer deserves to die. They must certainly be put to death.
32“ ‘Do not accept payment for anyone who has run to a city for safety. Do not let them buy their freedom to return home. They must not go back and live on their own land before the high priest dies.
33“ ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Murder pollutes the land. Only one thing can pay to remove the pollution in the land where murder has been committed. The blood of the one who spilled another’s blood must be spilled. 34So do not make the land where you live “unclean,” because I live there too. I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.’ ”
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Numbers 35: NIrV
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Bemiḏbar (Numbers) 35
35
1And יהוה spoke to Mosheh in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the Yardĕn of Yeriḥo, saying,
2“Command the children of Yisra’ĕl that they shall give the Lĕwites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession. Also give the Lĕwites open land around the cities.
3“And they shall have the cities to dwell in, and their open land for their cattle, and for their herds, and for all their livestock.
4“And the open land of the cities which you give the Lĕwites are from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.
5“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 the city is in the middle. This is to them the open land for the cities.
6“And the cities which you give to the Lĕwites are the six cities of refuge, which you give to the man-slayer to flee to, and to these you add forty-two cities.
7“All the cities which you give to the Lĕwites are forty-eight, these with their open land.
8And the cities which you give are from the possession of the children of Yisra’ĕl. From the larger tribe you give many, from the smaller you give few, each one gives some of its cities to the Lĕwites, in proportion to the inheritance that each inherits.”
9And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
10“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When you pass over the Yardĕn into the land of Kena‛an,
11then you shall choose cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man-slayer who struck someone mistakenly shall flee there.
12And they shall be cities of refuge for you from the revenger, and the man-slayer is not to die until he stands before the congregation for right-ruling.
13And of the cities which you give, six are to be cities of refuge.
14Give three cities beyond the Yardĕn, and give three cities in the land of Kena‛an, as cities of refuge.
15These six cities are for refuge for the children of Yisra’ĕl, and for the sojourner, and for the settler in their midst, for anyone who mistakenly strikes someone to flee there.
16But if he has stricken him with an instrument of iron, so that he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer shall certainly be put to death.
17And if he has stricken him with a stone in the hand, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall certainly be put to death.
18Or if he has stricken him with a wooden instrument that could kill, and he does die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall certainly be put to death.
19The revenger of blood himself puts the murderer to death. When he meets him, he puts him to death.
20And if he thrusts him through in hatred, or throws an object at him while lying in wait, so that he dies,”
21or in enmity he strikes him with his hand so that he dies, the one who struck him shall certainly be put to death, for he is a murderer. The revenger of blood puts the murderer to death when he meets him.
22But if he pushes him suddenly without enmity, or throws an object at him without lying in wait,
23or uses a stone, by which a man could die, throwing it at him without seeing him, so that he dies, while he was not his enemy or seeking his harm,
24then the congregation shall judge between him who struck someone and the revenger of blood, according to these right-rulings.
25And the congregation shall rescue the man-slayer from the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the set-apart oil.
26But if the man-slayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled,
27and the revenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the revenger of blood executes the man-slayer, he is not 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 man-slayer is to return to the land of his possession.
29And these shall be for a law of right-ruling to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30Whoever strikes a being, the murderer shall be executed by the mouth of witnesses, but one witness does not bear witness against someone to die.
31And take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death.
32And take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge to return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.
33And do not profane the land where you are, for blood profanes the land, and the land is not pardoned for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
34And do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell, for I, יהוה, am dwelling in the midst of the children of Yisra’ĕl.’ ”
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