Numbers 35
35
The Levites’ Towns
1The Lord spoke to Moses. This was in the Jordan Valley in Moab, near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. He said, 2“Tell the Israelites that they should give some of the cities in their part of the land to the Levites. The Israelites should give these cities and the pastures around them to the Levites. 3The Levites will be able to live in them. And all the cattle and other animals that belong to the Levites will be able to eat from the pastures around these cities. 4How much of your land should you give to the Levites? From the walls of the cities, go out 1500 feet#35:4 1500 feet Literally, “1000 cubits” (444 m). The people probably let their sheep and cattle use this land.—all of that land will belong to the Levites. 5Measure off an area around the city for the Levites. Start at the northeast corner and measure 3000 feet#35:5 3000 feet Literally, “2000 cubits” (1037 m). The Levites probably used this land for gardens and vineyards. to the south. Then from this corner, measure 3000 feet to the west. From there measure 3000 feet to the north and from that corner, 3000 feet to the east. The city will be in the center of this area. 6Six of those cities will be cities of safety. If a person accidentally kills someone, that person can run to those towns for safety. In addition to those six cities, you will also give 42 more cities to the Levites. 7So you will give a total of 48 cities to the Levites. You will also give them the land around those cities. 8The large tribes of Israel will get large pieces of land. The small tribes of Israel will get small pieces of land. So the large tribes will give more cities and the small tribes will give fewer cities to the Levites.”
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 10“Tell the people this: You will cross the Jordan River and go into the land of Canaan. 11You must choose towns to be cities of safety. If someone accidentally kills another person, that person can run to one of those towns for safety. 12That person will be safe from anyone from the dead man’s family who wants to punish the killer until that person is judged in court. 13There will be six cities of safety. 14Three of them will be east of the Jordan River and three of them will be in the land of Canaan, west of the Jordan River. 15These cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel and for foreigners and travelers. Any of these people will be able to run to one of these cities if they accidentally kill someone.
16“If you use an iron weapon#35:16 iron weapon This shows that the murderer chose a weapon he knew could kill the other person. to kill someone, you are a murderer, and you must die. 17If you use a rock large enough to kill someone and you kill another person, you are a murderer, and you must die. 18If you use a piece of wood large enough to kill someone and you kill another person, you are a murderer, and you must die. 19A member of the dead person’s family#35:19 member of the dead person’s family Literally, “the blood avenger.” Also in verses 20-21, 24, 26-27. can chase you and kill you.
20-21“You might hit someone with your hand or push someone or throw something at them and kill them. If you did that from hate, you are a murderer, and you must be killed. A member of the dead person’s family can chase you and kill you.
22“You might accidentally kill someone, maybe by pushing or by accidentally hitting them with a tool or weapon. 23Perhaps you threw a rock that was large enough to kill, but it hit someone you didn’t see and killed them. You didn’t plan to kill anyone. You didn’t hate the person you killed—it was only an accident. 24If that happens, the community must decide what to do. The court must decide if a member of the dead person’s family can kill you. 25If the community decides to protect you from the dead person’s family, the community must take you back to your city of safety. You must stay there until the official high priest#35:25 official high priest Literally, “the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.” dies.
26-27“You must never go outside the limits of your city of safety. If you do and if a member of the dead person’s family catches you and kills you, that family member will not be guilty of murder. 28Whoever accidentally killed someone must stay in their city of safety until the high priest dies. After the high priest dies, that person can go back to their own land. 29These rules will be the law forever in all the towns of your people.
30“A killer should be put to death as a murderer only if there are witnesses. No one can be put to death if there is only one witness.
31“A murderer must be put to death. Don’t take money to change the punishment. That murderer must be killed.
32“If a person killed someone and then ran to one of the cities of safety, don’t take money to let that person go home. That person must stay in that city until the high priest dies.
33“Don’t let your land be polluted with innocent blood. If a person murders someone, the only payment for that crime is that the murderer must be killed! There is no other payment that will free the land from that crime. 34I am the Lord. I will be living in your country with the Israelites, so don’t make it unclean with the blood of innocent people.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Numbers 35
35
Cities for the Levites
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan [across from] Jericho, saying, 2“Command the Israelites to give to the Levites cities to live in from the inheritance of their possession; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. 3The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their livestock.
4“The pasture lands around the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits (1,500 ft.) around. 5You shall also measure outside the city on the east, south, west, and north sides two thousand cubits (3,000 ft.), with the city in the center. This shall belong to the Levites as pasture lands for the cities.
Cities of Refuge
6[Among] the cities which you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall provide for the one who commits manslaughter to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities [to the Levites]. 7So you shall give to the Levites forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasture lands. 8As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the Israelites, from the larger tribes you shall take many and from the smaller tribes few; each tribe shall give [at least some] of its cities to the Levites in proportion to [the size of] its inheritance which it possesses.”
9Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Tell the Israelites, ‘When you cross the Jordan [River] into the land of Canaan, 11then you shall select for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge, so that the one who kills any person unintentionally may escape there. 12The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who has caused the death of another will not be killed until he has had a [fair] trial before the congregation. 13The cities which you are to provide shall be your six cities of refuge. 14You shall provide three cities on this [east] side of the Jordan [River], and three [more] cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be the cities of refuge. 15These six cities shall be a refuge for the Israelites and for the stranger and the resident alien among them; so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may escape there.
16‘But if he struck #35:16 Lit him, and so throughout.his victim down [intentionally] with an iron object so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall certainly be put to death. 17If he struck his victim down [intentionally] with a stone in hand, which may cause a person to die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall certainly be put to death. 18Or if he struck his victim down [intentionally] with a wooden object in hand, which may cause a person to die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall certainly be put to death. 19The blood avenger shall himself put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him. 20But if he pushed his victim out of hatred or threw something at him with malicious intent, and he died, 21or if, in enmity, he struck the victim down with his hand, and he died, the one that struck the victim shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22‘But if he pushed the victim suddenly, not in enmity, or threw anything at him without malicious intent, 23or without seeing him hit him [accidentally] with a stone object that could kill him, and he died, and [the offender] was not his enemy nor intending to harm him, 24then the congregation shall judge between the offender and the blood avenger according to these ordinances. 25The congregation shall rescue the offender from the hand of the blood avenger and return him to his city of refuge, [the place] to which he had escaped; and he shall live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the sacred oil. 26But if at any time the one guilty of manslaughter comes outside the border of his city of refuge to which he fled, 27and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills the offender, the blood avenger will not be guilty of murder, 28because the offender should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the high priest’s death the offender shall return to the land of his possession.
29‘These things shall be a statute for you throughout your generations wherever you may be.
30‘If anyone kills a person [intentionally], the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of [two or more] witnesses; but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of [only] one witness. 31Moreover, you shall not accept a ransom [in exchange] for the life of a murderer guilty and sentenced to death; but he shall certainly be put to death. 32You shall not accept a ransom for him who has escaped to his city of refuge, so that he may return to live in his [own] land before the death of the high priest. 33So you shall not pollute and defile the land in which you live; for [the shedding of innocent] blood pollutes and defiles the land. No atonement (expiation) can be made for the land for the [innocent] blood shed in it, except by the blood (execution) of him who shed it. 34You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I live, for I, the Lord, live among the people of Israel.’ ”
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