Numbers, 35

1. Yahweh spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho, and said:

1. The LORD said to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho,

2. 'Order the Israelites, from the heritage they possess, to give the Levites towns in which to live and pasture land round the towns. You will give these to the Levites.

2. "Command the people of Israel, that they give to the Levites, from the inheritance of their possession, cities to dwell in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands round about the cities.

3. The towns must be their homes and the surrounding pasture land must be for their cattle, their possessions and all their animals.

3. The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts.

4. The pasture land surrounding the towns which you give to the Levites will extend, from the walls of the towns, for a thousand cubits all round.

4. The pasture lands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all round.

5. 'Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits to the east, two thousand cubits to the south, two thousand cubits to the west and two thousand cubits to the north, the town lying in the centre; such will be the pasture lands of these towns.

5. And you shall measure, outside the city, for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle; this shall belong to them as pasture land for their cities.

6. The towns you give to the Levites will be six cities of refuge, ceded by you as sanctuary for those who commit manslaughter; and you will give forty-two towns in addition.

6. The cities which you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.

7. Altogether you will give the Levites forty-eight towns, with their pasture lands.

7. All the cities which you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasture lands.

8. Of the towns which you give from the Israelites' possessions, you will give more from those who have more, and less from those who have less. Each will give some of his towns to the Levites, in proportion to the heritage he himself has received.'

8. And as for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance which it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites."

9. Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:

9. And the LORD said to Moses,

10. 'Speak to the Israelites and say: "Once you have crossed the Jordan into Canaan,

10. "Say to the people of Israel, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

11. you will find towns, some of which you will make into cities of refuge where those who have accidentally committed manslaughter can take sanctuary.

11. then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.

12. These towns will afford you refuge from the avenger of blood, so that the killer will not be put to death before standing trial before the community.

12. The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

13. Of the towns you give, six will serve you as cities of refuge:

13. And the cities which you give shall be your six cities of refuge.

14. as cities of refuge, you will give three towns on the other side of the Jordan and will give three towns in Canaan.

14. You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.

15. These six towns will serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the foreigner and for the resident alien, where anyone who has accidentally killed someone can take sanctuary.

15. These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that any one who kills any person without intent may flee there.

16. "But if he has struck the person with an iron object so as to cause death, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.

16. "But if he struck him down with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.

17. If he has struck him with a stone meant for killing, and has killed him, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.

17. And if he struck him down with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.

18. Or if he has struck him with a wooden instrument meant for killing, and has killed him, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.

18. Or if he struck him down with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.

19. The avenger of blood will put the murderer to death. Whenever he finds him, he will put him to death.

19. The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

20. "If the killer has maliciously manhandled his victim, or thrown some lethal missile to strike him down,

20. And if he stabbed him from hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

21. or out of enmity dealt him the death-blow with his fist, then he who struck the blow will be put to death; he is a murderer; the avenger of blood will put him to death whenever he finds him.

21. or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death; he is a murderer; the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.

22. If, however, he has manhandled his victim by chance, without malice, or thrown some missile at him not meaning to hit him

22. "But if he stabbed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait,

23. or, without seeing him, dropped on him a stone meant for killing and so killed him, so long as he bore him no malice and wished him no harm,

23. or used a stone, by which a man may die, and without seeing him cast it upon him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy, and did not seek his harm;

24. then the community will decide in accordance with these rules between the one who struck the blow and the avenger of blood,

24. then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these ordinances;

25. and will save the killer from the clutches of the avenger of blood. They will send him back to the city of refuge where he had taken sanctuary, and there he will stay until the death of the high priest who has been anointed with the holy oil.

25. and the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

26. Should the killer leave the bounds of the city of refuge in which he has taken sanctuary

26. But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the bounds of his city of refuge to which he fled,

27. and the avenger of blood encounter him outside the bounds of his city of refuge, the avenger of blood may kill him without fear of reprisal;

27. and the avenger of blood finds him outside the bounds of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slays the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.

28. since the killer should stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest is he free to go back to his own piece of property.

28. For the man must remain 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.

29. Such will be the legal rule for you and your descendants, wherever you may live.

29. "And these things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

30. "In any case of homicide, the evidence of witnesses will determine whether the killer must be put to death; but a single witness is not enough to sustain a capital charge.

30. If any one kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

31. You will not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer condemned to death; he must die.

31. Moreover you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death; but he shall be put to death.

32. Nor will you accept a ransom for anyone who, having taken sanctuary in his city or refuge, wishes to come back and live at home before the death of the high priest.

32. And you shall accept 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 high priest.

33. Do not profane the country you live in. Blood profanes the country and, for the country, the only expiation for the blood shed in it is the blood of the man who shed it.

33. You shall not thus pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of him who shed it.

34. So do not defile the country which you live in and where I live; for I, Yahweh, live among the Israelites." '

34. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel."