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 Levites’ Towns
1The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab across from Jericho by the Jordan River. He said, 2“Command the Israelites to give the Levites cities to live in from the land they receive. Also give the Levites the pastureland around these cities. 3Then the Levites will have cities where they may live and pastureland for their cattle, flocks, and other animals. 4The pastureland you give the Levites will extend fifteen hundred feet from the city wall. 5Also measure three thousand feet in each direction outside the city wall—three thousand feet east of the city, three thousand feet south of the city, three thousand feet west of the city, and three thousand feet north of the city, with the city in the center. This will be pastureland for the Levites’ cities.
Cities of Safety
6“Six of the cities you give the Levites will be cities of safety. A person who accidentally kills someone may run to one of those cities for safety. You must also give forty-two other cities to the Levites; 7give the Levites a total of forty-eight cities and their pastures. 8The larger tribes of Israel must give more cities, and the smaller tribes must give fewer cities. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the Levites, but the number of cities they give will depend on the size of their land.”
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 10“Tell the Israelites these things: ‘When you cross the Jordan River and go into Canaan, 11you must choose cities to be cities of safety, so that a person who accidentally kills someone may run to them for safety. 12There the person will be safe from the dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing the killer. He will not die before he receives a fair trial in court. 13The six cities you give will be cities of safety. 14Give three cities east of the Jordan River and three cities in Canaan as cities of safety. 15These six cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel, as well as for foreigners and other people living with you. Any of these people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of these cities.
16“ ‘Anyone who uses an iron weapon to kill someone is a murderer. He must be put to death. 17Anyone who takes a rock and kills a person with it is a murderer. He must be put to death. 18Anyone who picks up a piece of wood and kills someone with it is a murderer. He must be put to death. 19A relative of the dead person must put the murderer to death; when they meet, the relative must kill the murderer. 20A person might shove someone or throw something at someone and cause death. 21Or a person might hit someone with his hand and cause death. If it were done from hate, the person is a murderer and must be put to death. A relative of the dead person must kill the murderer when they meet.
22“ ‘But a person might suddenly shove someone, and not from hatred. Or a person might accidentally throw something and hit someone. 23Or a person might drop a rock on someone he couldn’t see and kill that person. There was no plan to hurt anyone and no hatred for the one who was killed. 24If that happens, the community must judge between the relative of the dead person and the killer, according to these rules. 25They must protect the killer from the dead person’s relative, sending the killer back to the original city of safety, to stay there until the high priest dies (the high priest had the holy oil poured on him).
26“ ‘Such a person must never go outside the limits of the city of safety. 27If a relative of the dead person finds the killer outside the city, the relative may kill that person and not be guilty of murder. 28The killer must stay in the city of safety until the high priest dies. After the high priest dies, the killer may go home.
29“ ‘These laws are for you from now on, wherever you live.
30“ ‘If anyone kills a person, the murderer may be put to death only if there are witnesses. No one may be put to death with only one witness.
31“ ‘Don’t take money to spare the life of a murderer who should be put to death. A murderer must be put to death.
32“ ‘If someone has run to a city of safety, don’t take money to let the person go back home before the high priest dies.
33“ ‘Don’t let murder spoil your land. The only way to remove the sin of killing an innocent person is for the murderer to be put to death. 34I am the Lord, and I live among the Israelites. I live in that land with you, so do not spoil it with murder.’ ”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.