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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Bemiḏbar (Numbers) 35: TS2009
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Numbers 35
35
Cities for the Levites
1The Lord again spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho:#Nm 22:1; 26:3,63; 31:12; 33:48–50; 36:13; Dt 34:1,8; Jos 13:32 2“Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities.#Jos 14:3–4; 21:2–3; Ezk 45:1–5; 48:8–14 3The cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their other animals. 4The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall five hundred yards#35:4 Lit 1,000 cubits on every side. 5Measure a thousand yards#35:5 Lit 2,000 cubits outside the city for the east side, a thousand yards for the south side, a thousand yards for the west side, and a thousand yards for the north side, with the city in the center. This will belong to them as pasturelands for the cities.
6“The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge,#Ex 21:12–14; Dt 4:41–43; 19:1–13; Jos 20:2,7–9; 21:3,13,21,27,32,36,38; 1Ch 6:57,67 which you will provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give forty-two other cities.#Jos 21:13 7The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, along with their pasturelands.#Jos 21:41 8Of the cities that you give from the Israelites’ territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one.#Nm 26:54; 33:54 Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”
Cities of Refuge
9The Lord said to Moses, 10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.#Dt 4:42; 19:3–4,6; Jos 20:3–6 12You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger,#Gn 9:5–6; Dt 19:6,12; Jos 20:5,9; 2Sm 14:11; 1Th 4:6 so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. 13The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. 14Select three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge.#Dt 4:41; Jos 20:8 15These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the alien or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
16“If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.#Ex 21:12–14; Lv 24:17; Dt 19:11–12 17If anyone has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 18If anyone has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 19The avenger of blood himself is to kill the murderer; when he finds him, he is to kill him.#Dt 19:6,12; Jos 20:3,5 20Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, 21or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.
22“But if anyone suddenly pushes a person without hostility or throws any object at him without malicious intent 23or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and didn’t intend to harm him, 24the assembly is to judge between the person who kills someone and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.#Ex 21:13
26“If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to, 27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, 28for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses. 29These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
30“If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death based on the word of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness.#Dt 17:6; 19:15; Mt 18:16 31You are not to accept a ransom for the life of someone who is guilty of murder; he must be put to death. 32Neither should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to his city of refuge, allowing him to return and live in the land before the death of the high priest.
33“Do not defile the land where you live, for bloodshed defiles the land,#Ps 106:38; Is 24:5; Jr 3:9 and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it. 34Do not make the land unclean where you live and where I dwell; for I, the Lord, reside among the Israelites.”
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