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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Numbers 35
35
The Cities Assigned to the Levites
1 #
Josh 21.1–42
In the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho the LORD said to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites that from the property they receive they must give the Levites some cities to live in and pasture land round the cities. 3These cities will belong to the Levites, and they will live there. The pasture land will be for their cattle and all their other animals. 4The pasture land is to extend outwards from the city walls 450 metres in each direction, 5so that there is a square area measuring 900 metres on each side, with the city in the middle. 6You are to give the Levites six cities of refuge to which a man can escape if he kills someone accidentally. In addition, give them 42 other cities 7with their pasture land, making a total of 48. 8The number of Levite cities in each tribe is to be determined according to the size of its territory.”
The Cities of Refuge
(Deut 19.1–13; Josh 20.1–9)
9The LORD told Moses 10to say to the people of Israel: “When you cross the River Jordan and enter the land of Canaan, 11you are to choose cities of refuge to which a man can escape if he kills someone accidentally. 12There he will be safe from the dead person's relative who seeks revenge. No one accused of manslaughter is to be put to death without a public trial. 13Choose six cities, 14three east of the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. 15These will serve as cities of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners who are temporary or permanent residents. Anyone who kills someone accidentally can escape to one of them.
16-18“If, however, anyone uses a weapon of iron or stone or wood to kill someone, he is guilty of murder and is to be put to death. 19The dead person's nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds him, he is to kill him.
20“If anyone hates someone and kills him by pushing him down or by throwing something at him 21or by striking him with his fist, he is guilty of murder and is to be put to death. The dead man's nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds him, he is to kill him.
22“But suppose anyone accidentally kills someone he does not hate, whether by pushing him down or by throwing something at him. 23Or suppose that, without looking, anyone throws a stone that kills someone whom he did not intend to hurt and who was not his enemy. 24In such cases the community shall judge in favour of the one who caused the death and not in favour of the dead person's relative who is seeking revenge. 25The community is to rescue the one guilty of manslaughter from the dead person's relative, and they are to return him to the city of refuge to which he had escaped. He must live there until the death of the man who is then High Priest. 26If the one guilty of manslaughter leaves the city of refuge to which he has escaped 27and if the dead person's relative finds him and kills him, this act of revenge is not murder. 28The person guilty of manslaughter must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest, but after that he may return home. 29These rules apply to you and your descendants wherever you may live.
30 #
Deut 17.6; 19.15 “Anyone accused of murder may be found guilty and put to death only on the evidence of two or more witnesses; the evidence of one witness is not sufficient to support an accusation of murder. 31A murderer must be put to death. He cannot escape this penalty by the payment of money. 32If someone has fled to a city of refuge, do not allow him to make a payment in order to return home before the death of the High Priest. 33If you did this, you would defile the land where you are living. Murder defiles the land, and except by the death of the murderer there is no way to perform the ritual of purification for the land where someone has been murdered. 34Do not defile the land where you are living, because I am the LORD and I live among the people of Israel.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.