1 A nd Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, Jericho, saying,

The Lord said to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan near Jericho,

2 ` 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.

“Tell the people of Israel to give the Levites cities to live in from the land they receive. And give the Levites fields around the cities.

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

The cities will be theirs to live in. Their fields will be for their cattle and flocks and for all their animals.

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

The fields you give the Levites should be around the cities, from the city walls out 500 long steps.

5 A nd 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 in the midst; this is to them the suburbs of the cities.

And you should number 1, 000 long steps from the city on the east side, on the south side, on the west side, and on the north side, with the city in the center. These fields around the cities will belong to them for their animals.

6 ` And the cities which ye give to the Levites 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;

The cities you give the Levites will be the six cities where people can go to be safe. They will be where a man may run to if he has killed another person. And give them forty-two other cities, added to these.

7 a ll the cities which ye give to the Levites forty and eight cities, them and their suburbs.

Give forty-eight cities in all to the Levites, together with their fields.

8 A nd the cities which ye give 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.'

Take more cities from the larger families of Israel to give to the Levites. And take less cities from the smaller families. Each should give some of its cities to the Levites by how much land is received.” The Cities to Be a Safe Place

9 A nd Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

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,

“Say to the people of Israel, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

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

choose which cities are to be the ones where you can run to be safe. The man who has killed a person without meaning to may run there.

12 a nd 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.

The cities will be a safe place for you from the one who wants to punish you. So the one who has killed a person may not die until the people decide if he is guilty or not.

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

The cities you give will be your six cities where you can go to be safe.

14 t he 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.

Give three cities on the east side of the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan. They will be the cities where you can go to be safe.

15 T o 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.

These six cities will be safe places for the people of Israel and for the stranger and for the one who visits them. Anyone who kills a person without meaning to may run there.

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

‘But if he killed him with an iron object, then he is guilty. For sure the killer will be put to death.

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

If he knocked him down with a stone so that he died, he is guilty. For sure the killer will be put to death.

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

Or if he hit him with a piece of wood in his hand so that he died, he is guilty. For sure the killer will be 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.

The man who wants to punish him for the killing will put the killer to death. He will put him to death when he meets him.

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

If the killer has pushed him because he hated him, or has thrown something at him after waiting for him, and because of this he died,

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

or if he hit him down with his hand because he hated him and killed him, for sure the one who killed him must be put to death. He is guilty. The man who wants to punish him for the killing will put him to death when he meets 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;

‘But if he pushed him without planning to and without hating him, or threw something at him without having waited for him,

23 o r with any stone wherewith he dieth, without seeing, and causeth to fall upon him, and he dieth, and he not his enemy, nor seeking his evil;

or he threw a stone without seeing him, killing him without hating him or meaning to hurt him,

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

then the people will decide by these Laws between the killer and the one who wants to punish him.

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.

The people will save the killer from the man who wants to punish him. And they will return him to his city where he had gone to be safe. He will live in it until the death of the head religious leader who was set apart with the holy oil.

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

But if the man who killed another person at sometime goes outside his city where he went to be safe,

27 a nd 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;

then the man who wants to punish him will not be guilty of blood if he finds him outside the safe city and kills him.

28 f or 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.

Because the man should have stayed in his city to be safe until the death of the head religious leader. But after the head religious leader dies, the man who killed another person may return to his own land.

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

‘These things will be a Law to you and to all your children-to-come in all your homes.

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

If anyone kills a person, the killer must be put to death by what is told by those who saw the killing. But no person may be put to death because of what one person says.

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

You must not take pay to save the life of a killer who is guilty of death. But he must be put to death.

32 a nd 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.

You must not take pay for him who has run to his city to be safe, so that he may return to live in the land before the death of the religious leader.

33 ` And ye profane not the land which ye 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;

You must not make the land where you live unclean. The land is not holy when people are killed. And only the blood of him who is guilty can pay to make the land free from the blood that has fallen on it.

34 a nd 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.'

Do not make the land where you live unclean, in the place where I live. For I the Lord am living among the people of Israel.’”