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Towns for the Levites
While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,
While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,
Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites
And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying,
And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying,
“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands.
Command the children of Israel, that of the inheritance of their possession they give unto the Levites cities to dwell in; and a suburb for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites.
These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.
And the cities shall they have to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.
And the suburbs of the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be from the walls of the city outward, a thousand cubits round about.
And ye shall measure, without the city, the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst: they shall have this as suburbs of the cities.
“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.
Six Cities of Refuge
And [among] the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither, -- and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities:
And [among] the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither, -- and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities:
In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites.
all the cities that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs.
These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.”
And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have much ye shall take much, and from them that have little ye shall take little; each one according to his inheritance which he will inherit shall give of his cities to the Levites.
“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.
“When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
“When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally.
then ye shall appoint for yourselves cities: cities of refuge shall they be for you; that a manslayer may flee thither, who without intent smiteth a person mortally.
These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community.
And ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment.
Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves,
And the cities that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you.
three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan.
Three cities shall ye give on this side of the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.
These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.
For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them shall these six cities be a refuge, that one who smiteth a person mortally without intent may flee thither.
“But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed.
And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death.
Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.
And if he have smitten him with a stone from the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death.
Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.
Or if he have smitten him with an instrument of wood, in the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death;
The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death.
the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death.
So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder.
And if he thrust at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die,
Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet.
or from enmity smite him with his hand, so that he die, he that smote him shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him. --
“But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person,
But if he have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally,
or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies.
or [have smitten him] with any stone wherewith one may die, without seeing him, and have cast it upon him so that he die, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:
If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative:
then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these judgments;
The community must protect the slayer from the avenger and must escort the slayer back to live in the city of refuge to which he fled. There he must remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil.
and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; and he shall abide in it until the death of the high-priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
“But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge,
But if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled,
and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder.
and the avenger of blood find him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer, there shall be no blood-guiltiness upon him;
The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property.
for the manslayer should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high-priest; but after the death of the high-priest he may return into the land of his possession.
These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.
And this shall be unto you a statute of right throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
“All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die.
Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death.
And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death.
And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest.
And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.