Numbers 35
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1And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying:1While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,
2“Command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites common-land around the cities.2“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands.
3They shall have the cities to dwell in; and their common-land shall be for their cattle, for their herds, and for all their animals.3These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.
4The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.4The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction.
5And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities.5Measure off 3,000 feet outside the town walls in every direction—east, south, west, north—with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns.
6“Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities.6“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.
7So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be forty-eight; these you shall give with their common-land.7In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites.
8And the cities which you will give shall be from the possession of the children of Israel; from the larger tribe you shall give many, from the smaller you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites, in proportion to the inheritance that each receives.”8These 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.” Cities of Refuge
9Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,9The LORD said to Moses,
10“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,10“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there.11designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally.
12They shall be cities of refuge for you from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment.12These 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.
13And of the cities which you give, you shall have six cities of refuge.13Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves,
14You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge.14three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan.
15These six cities shall be for refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there.15These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.
16‘But if he strikes him with an iron implement, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.16“But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed.
17And if he strikes him with a stone in the hand, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.17Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.
18Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.18Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.
19The avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.19The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death.
20If he pushes him out of hatred or, while lying in wait, hurls something at him so that he dies,20So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder.
21or in enmity he strikes him with his hand so that he dies, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.21Or 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.
22‘However, if he pushes him suddenly without enmity, or throws anything at him without lying in wait,22“But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person,
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,23or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies.
24then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments.24If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative:
25So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger 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 holy oil.25The 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.
26But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled,26“But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge,
27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,27and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder.
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 manslayer may return to the land of his possession.28The 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.
29‘And these things shall be a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.29These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.
30Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty.30“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.
31Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.31Also, 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.
32And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.32And 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.
33So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.33This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.
34Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.’ ”34You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the LORD, who lives among the people of Israel.”
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Numbers 34
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