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34 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

`Command the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye are coming in unto the land of Canaan -- this [is] the land which falleth to you by inheritance, the land of Canaan, by its borders --

then hath the south quarter been to you from the wilderness of Zin, by the sides of Edom, yea, the south border hath been to you from the extremity of the Salt Sea, eastward;

and the border hath turned round to you from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and hath passed on to Zin, and its outgoings have been from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and it hath gone out at Hazar-Addar, and hath passed on to Azmon;

and the border hath turned round from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its outgoings have been at the sea.

`As to the west border, even the great sea hath been to you a border; this is to you the west border.

`And this is to you the north border: from the great sea ye mark out for yourselves mount Hor;

from mount Hor ye mark out to go in to Hamath, and the outgoings of the border have been to Zedad;

and the border hath gone out to Ziphron, and its outgoings have been at Hazar-Enan; this is to you the north border.

10 `And ye have marked out for yourselves for the border eastward, from Hazar-Enan to Shepham;

11 and the border hath gone down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east of Ain, and the border hath gone down, and hath smitten against the shoulder of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;

12 and the border hath gone down to the Jordan, and its outgoings have been at the Salt Sea; this is for you the land by its borders round about.'

13 And Moses commandeth the sons of Israel, saying, `This [is] the land which ye inherit by lot, which Jehovah hath commanded to give to the nine tribes and the half of the tribe;

14 for the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received, by the house of their fathers; and the tribe of the children of Gad, by the house of their fathers; and the half of the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance;

15 the two tribes and the half of the tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan, [near] Jericho, eastward, at the [sun]-rising.'

16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

17 `These [are] the names of the men who give to you the inheritance of the land: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua son of Nun,

18 and one prince -- one prince -- for a tribe ye do take to give the land by inheritance.

19 `And these [are] the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

20 and of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Shemuel son of Aminihud;

21 of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon;

22 and of the tribe of the sons of Dan, the prince Bukki son of Jogli;

23 of the sons of Joseph, of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, the prince Hanniel son of Ephod;

24 and of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, the prince Kemuel son of Shiphtan;

25 and of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, the prince Elizaphan son of Parnach;

26 and of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the prince Paltiel son of Azzan;

27 and of the tribe of the sons of Asher, the prince Ahihud son of Shelomi;

28 and of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, the prince Pedahel son of Ammihud.'

29 These [are] those whom Jehovah hath commanded to give the sons of Israel inheritance in the land of Canaan.

35 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, [near] Jericho, saying,

`Command the sons of Israel, and they have given to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to inhabit; also a suburb for the cities round about them ye do give to the Levites.

And the cities have been to them to inhabit, and their suburbs are for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

`And the suburbs of the cities which ye give to the Levites [are], from the wall of the city and without, a thousand cubits round about.

And ye have measured from the outside of the city, the east quarter, two thousand by the cubit, and the south quarter, two thousand by the cubit, and the west quarter, two thousand by the cubit, and the north quarter, two thousand by the cubit; and the city [is] in the midst; this is to them the suburbs of the cities.

`And the cities which ye give to the Levites [are] the six cities of refuge, which ye give for the fleeing thither of the man-slayer, and besides them ye give forty and two cities;

all the cities which ye give to the Levites [are] forty and eight cities, them and their suburbs.

And the cities which ye give [are] of the possession of the sons of Israel, from the many ye multiply, and from the few ye diminish; each, according to his inheritance which they inherit, doth give of his cities to the Levites.'

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

10 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye are passing over the Jordan to the land of Canaan,

11 and have prepared to yourselves cities -- cities of refuge they are to you -- then fled thither hath a man-slayer, smiting a person unawares,

12 and the cities have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer, and the man-slayer doth not die till his standing before the company for judgment.

13 `As to the cities which ye give -- six [are] cities of refuge to you;

14 the three of the cities ye give beyond the Jordan, and the three of the cities ye give in the land of Canaan; cities of refuge they are.

15 To sons of Israel, and to a sojourner, and to a settler in their midst, are these six cities for a refuge, for the fleeing thither of any one smiting a person unawares.

16 `And if with an instrument of iron he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

17 `And if with a stone [in] the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

18 `Or with a wooden instrument [in] the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he [is] a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.

19 `The redeemer of blood himself doth put the murderer to death; in his coming against him he doth put him to death.

20 `And if in hatred he thrust him through, or hath cast [anything] at him by lying in wait, and he dieth;

21 or in enmity he hath smitten him with his hand, and he dieth; the smiter is certainly put to death; he [is] a murderer; the redeemer of blood doth put the murderer to death in his coming against him.

22 `And if, in an instant, without enmity, he hath thrust him through, or hath cast at him any instrument, without lying in wait;

23 or with any stone wherewith he dieth, without seeing, and causeth [it] to fall upon him, and he dieth, and he [is] not his enemy, nor seeking his evil;

24 then have the company judged between the smiter and the redeemer of blood, by these judgments.

25 `And the company have delivered the man-slayer out of the hand of the redeemer of blood, and the company have caused him to turn back unto the city of his refuge, whither he hath fled, and he hath dwelt in it till the death of the chief priest, who hath been anointed with the holy oil.

26 `And if the man-slayer at all go out [from] the border of the city of his refuge whither he fleeth,

27 and the redeemer of blood hath found him at the outside of the border of the city of his refuge, and the redeemer of blood hath slain the man-slayer, blood is not for him;

28 for in the city of his refuge he doth dwell till the death of the chief priest; and after the death of the chief priest doth the man-slayer turn back unto the city of his possession.

29 `And these things have been to you for a statute of judgment to your generations, in all your dwellings:

30 whoso smiteth a person, by the mouth of witnesses doth [one] slay the murderer; and one witness doth not testify against a person -- to die.

31 `And ye take no atonement for the life of a murderer who [is] condemned -- to die, for he is certainly put to death;

32 and ye take no atonement for him to flee unto the city of his refuge, to turn back to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

33 `And ye profane not the land which ye [are] in, for blood profaneth the land; as to the land, it is not pardoned for blood which is shed in it except by the blood of him who sheddeth it;

34 and ye defile not the land in which ye are dwelling, in the midst of which I do tabernacle, for I Jehovah do tabernacle in the midst of the sons of Israel.'

36 And the heads of the fathers of the families of the sons of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, come near, and speak before Moses, and before the princes, heads of the fathers of the sons of Israel,

and say, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the sons of Israel, and my lord hath been commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

`And -- they have been to one of the sons of the [other] tribes of the sons of Israel for wives, and their inheritance hath been withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers, and hath been added to the inheritance of the tribe which is theirs, and from the lot of our inheritance it is withdrawn,

and if it is the jubilee of the sons of Israel, then hath their inheritance been added to the inheritance of the tribe which is theirs, and from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers is their inheritance withdrawn.'

And Moses commandeth the sons of Israel, by the command of Jehovah, saying, `Rightly are the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaking;

this [is] the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, To those good in their eyes let them be for wives; only, to a family of the tribe of their fathers let them be for wives;

and the inheritance of the sons of Israel doth not turn round from tribe unto tribe; for each to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, do the sons of Israel cleave.

`And every daughter possessing an inheritance, of the tribes of the sons of Israel, is to one of the family of the tribe of her father for a wife, so that the sons of Israel possess each the inheritance of his fathers,

and the inheritance doth not turn round from [one] tribe to another tribe; for each to his inheritance do they cleave, the tribes of the sons of Israel.'

10 As Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the daughters of Zelophehad done,

11 and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, daughters of Zelophehad, are to the sons of their fathers' brethren for wives;

12 [to men] of the families of the sons of Manasseh, son of Joseph, they have been for wives, and their inheritance is with the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These [are] the commands and the judgments which Jehovah hath commanded, by the hand of Moses, concerning the sons of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, [near] Jericho.

Boundaries of Canaan

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan,(A) the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance(B) is to have these boundaries:(C)

“‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin(D) along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea,(E) cross south of Scorpion Pass,(F) continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea.(G) Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon,(H) where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt(I) and end at the Mediterranean Sea.

“‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.(J) This will be your boundary on the west.(K)

“‘For your northern boundary,(L) run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor(M) and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath.(N) Then the boundary will go to Zedad, continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.

10 “‘For your eastern boundary,(O) run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah(P) on the east side of Ain(Q) and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee.[a](R) 12 Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea.

“‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”

13 Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot(S) as an inheritance.(T) The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, 14 because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.(U) 15 These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance east of the Jordan across from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua(V) son of Nun. 18 And appoint one leader from each tribe to help(W) assign the land.(X) 19 These are their names:(Y)

Caleb(Z) son of Jephunneh,

from the tribe of Judah;(AA)

20 Shemuel son of Ammihud,

from the tribe of Simeon;(AB)

21 Elidad son of Kislon,

from the tribe of Benjamin;(AC)

22 Bukki son of Jogli,

the leader from the tribe of Dan;

23 Hanniel son of Ephod,

the leader from the tribe of Manasseh(AD) son of Joseph;

24 Kemuel son of Shiphtan,

the leader from the tribe of Ephraim(AE) son of Joseph;

25 Elizaphan son of Parnak,

the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;(AF)

26 Paltiel son of Azzan,

the leader from the tribe of Issachar;

27 Ahihud son of Shelomi,

the leader from the tribe of Asher;(AG)

28 Pedahel son of Ammihud,

the leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

29 These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.(AH)

Towns for the Levites

35 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,(AI) the Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in(AJ) from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands(AK) around the towns. Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.(AL)

“The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits[b] from the town wall. Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits[c](AM) on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.(AN)

Cities of Refuge(AO)

“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee.(AP) In addition, give them forty-two other towns. In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”(AQ)

Then the Lord said to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,(AR) 11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone(AS) accidentally(AT) may flee. 12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger,(AU) so that anyone accused of murder(AV) may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.(AW) 13 These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.(AX) 14 Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. 15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

16 “‘If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.(AY) 17 Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. 18 Or if anyone is holding a wooden object and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood(AZ) shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death.(BA) 20 If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally(BB) so that they die 21 or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death;(BC) that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood(BD) shall put the murderer to death when they meet.

22 “‘But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally(BE) 23 or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended, 24 the assembly(BF) must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. 25 The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest,(BG) who was anointed(BH) with the holy oil.(BI)

26 “‘But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled 27 and the avenger of blood finds them outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. 28 The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.

29 “‘This is to have the force of law(BJ) for you throughout the generations to come,(BK) wherever you live.(BL)

30 “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(BM)

31 “‘Do not accept a ransom(BN) for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.

32 “‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.

33 “‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land,(BO) and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land(BP) where you live and where I dwell,(BQ) for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’”

Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters(BR)

36 The family heads of the clan of Gilead(BS) son of Makir,(BT) the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph,(BU) came and spoke before Moses and the leaders,(BV) the heads of the Israelite families. They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot,(BW) he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad(BX) to his daughters. Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away. When the Year of Jubilee(BY) for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our ancestors.”

Then at the Lord’s command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right. This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. No inheritance(BZ) in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan,(CA) so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

10 So Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah(CB)—married their cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s tribe and clan.(CC)

13 These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses(CD) to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.(CE)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 34:11 Hebrew Kinnereth
  2. Numbers 35:4 That is, about 1,500 feet or about 450 meters
  3. Numbers 35:5 That is, about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters