Numbers 35
New American Standard Bible
Cities for the Levites
35 (A)Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 2 “Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. 3 The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their equipment and for all their other animals.
4 “The pasture lands of the cities which you are to give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city [a]outward a thousand cubits around. 5 You shall also 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, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.
Cities of Refuge
6 The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the (B)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. 7 The total number of the cities which you are to give to the Levites shall be (C)forty-eight cities, [b]together with their pasture lands. 8 (D)As for the cities which you shall give them from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger, and you shall take fewer from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his inheritance which he possesses.”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “(E)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 (F)then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your (G)cities of refuge, so that the one who commits manslaughter by [c]killing a person (H)unintentionally may flee there. 12 (I)The cities shall [d]serve you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who commits manslaughter does not die until he stands before the congregation for [e]trial. 13 So the cities which you are to provide shall be six cities of refuge for you. 14 You (J)shall provide three cities across the Jordan, and three cities [f]in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be a refuge for the sons of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreign resident among them; so that anyone who [g]kills a person (K)unintentionally may flee there.
16 ‘(L)But if he struck him with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 17 And if he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which he would die, and as a result he did die, he is a murderer; the murderer (M)must be put to death. 18 Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he would die, and as a result he did die, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 19 The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he himself shall put him to death when he meets him. 20 Now (N)if he pushed him in hatred, or he threw something at him [h](O)with malicious intent, and as a result he died, 21 or if he struck him with his hand with hostility, and as a result he died, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22 ‘(P)But if he pushed him suddenly, without hostility, or threw any object at him without [i]malicious intent, 23 or had any [j]deadly stone, and without looking he dropped it on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor was he seeking [k]to harm him, 24 then (Q)the congregation shall judge between the one who fatally struck the victim and the blood avenger in accordance with these ordinances. 25 And the congregation shall save the one who committed manslaughter from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall return him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if at any time [l]he goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he flees, 27 and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills [m]him, he [n]will not be guilty of bloodshed, 28 because 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 one who committed manslaughter may return to the land of his property.
29 ‘These things shall be a (R)statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
30 ‘(S)If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the [o]testimony of witnesses, but (T)no person shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 31 Moreover, you shall not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is [p]condemned to death, but he must be put to death. 32 And you shall not accept a ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, so that he may return to live in the land [q]before the death of the priest. 33 (U)So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except (V)by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 So you shall not (W)defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which (X)I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”
Footnotes
- Numbers 35:4 Lit and outward
- Numbers 35:7 Lit them together with
- Numbers 35:11 Lit fatally striking
- Numbers 35:12 Lit be to you
- Numbers 35:12 Lit judgment
- Numbers 35:14 Lit you shall give in
- Numbers 35:15 Lit strikes
- Numbers 35:20 Lit in pursuit
- Numbers 35:22 Lit pursuit
- Numbers 35:23 Lit stone by which he would die
- Numbers 35:23 Lit his harm
- Numbers 35:26 Lit the one who committed manslaughter
- Numbers 35:27 Lit the one who committed manslaughter
- Numbers 35:27 Lit he has no bloodguilt
- Numbers 35:30 Lit mouth
- Numbers 35:31 Lit guilty
- Numbers 35:32 Or until
Numbers 35
Living Bible
35 While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,
2 “Instruct the people of Israel to give to the Levites as their inheritance certain cities and surrounding pasturelands. 3 These cities are for their homes, and the surrounding lands for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. 4-5 Their gardens and vineyards shall extend 1500 feet out from the city walls in each direction, with an additional 1500 feet beyond that for pastureland.
6 “You shall give the Levites the six Cities of Refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can run and be safe, and forty-two other cities besides. 7 In all, there shall be forty-eight cities with the surrounding pastureland given to the Levites. 8 These cities shall be in various parts of the nation; the larger tribes with many cities will give several to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer.”
9-10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people that when they arrive in the land, 11 Cities of Refuge shall be designated for anyone to flee into if he has killed someone accidentally. 12 These cities will be places of protection from the dead man’s relatives who want to avenge his death; for the slayer must not be killed unless a fair trial establishes his guilt. 13-14 Three of these six Cities of Refuge are to be located in the land of Canaan, and three on the east side of the Jordan River. 15 These are not only for the protection of Israelites, but also for foreigners and travelers.
16 “But if someone is struck and killed by a piece of iron, it must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed. 17 Or if the slain man was struck down with a large stone, it is murder, and the murderer shall die. 18 The same is true if he is killed with a wooden weapon. 19 The avenger of his death shall personally kill the murderer when he meets him. 20 So if anyone kills another out of hatred by throwing something at him, or ambushing him, 21 or angrily striking him with his fist so that he dies, he is a murderer; and the murderer shall be executed by the avenger.
22-23 “But if it is an accident—a case in which something is thrown unintentionally, or in which a stone is thrown without anger, without realizing it will hit anyone, and without wanting to harm an enemy—yet the man dies, 24 then the people shall judge whether or not it was an accident, and whether or not to hand the killer over to the avenger of the dead man. 25 If it is decided that it was accidental, then the people shall save the killer from the avenger; the killer shall be permitted to stay in the City of Refuge; and he must live there until the death of the High Priest.
26 “If the slayer leaves the city, 27 and the avenger finds him outside and kills him, it is not murder, 28 for the man should have stayed inside the city until the death of the High Priest. But after the death of the High Priest, the man may return to his own land and home. 29 These are permanent laws for all Israel from generation to generation.
30 “All murderers must be executed, but only if there is more than one witness; no man shall die with only one person testifying against him. 31 Whenever anyone is judged guilty of murder, he must die—no ransom may be accepted for him. 32 Nor may a payment be accepted from a refugee in a City of Refuge, permitting him to return to his home before the death of the High Priest. 33 In this way the land will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer. 34 You shall not defile the land where you are going to live, for I, Jehovah, will be living there.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.