Numbers

35 And Yahweh spake unto Moses in the waste plains of Moab,—by Jordan, near Jericho, saying:

2 Command the sons of Israel, that they give unto the Levites—out of the inheritance which they possess—cities to dwell in,—pasture land also unto the cities, round about them, shall ye give unto the Levites.

3 So shall the cities be theirs to dwell in,—and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their goods and for all their beasts.

4 And the pasture lands of the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites shall be,—from the wall of the city and outwards, a thousand cubits round about

5 So ye shall measure—on the outside of the city—the eastward 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, with the city in the midst. This shall be unto them the pasture lands of the cities.

6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give that the manslayer may flee thither,—and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities.

7 All the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites shall be forty-eight cities,—them and their pasture lands.

8 And as touching the cities which ye shall give out of the possession of the sons of Israel, from the many shall ye take many, and from the few shall ye take few,—each according to his inheritance which they shall inherit shall give of his cities unto the Levites.

9 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

10 Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say unto them,—When ye are passing over the Jordan unto the land of Canaan,

11 then shall ye find for you convenient cities, cities of refuge shall they be unto you,—and the manslayer, who hath slain a person by mistake, shall flee thither.

12 So shall the cities serve you for places of refuge from the redeemer,—that the manslayer may not die, until he has stood before the assembly for judgment.

13 And as touching the cities which ye shall give, six cities of refuge shall there be unto you.

14 Three of the cities shall ye give on this side the Jordan, and three of the cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan,—cities of refuge shall they be.

15 For the sons of Israel, and for the sojourner, and for the settler in your midst shall these six cities serve as places of refuge,—that any one may flee thither who hath slain a person by mistake.

16 If, then, with an instrument of iron he smote him, and he died, a manslayer he is,—a manslayer shall surely die.

17 Or if with a stone thrown by hand, whereby one might die, he smote him and he died, a manslayer he is,—the manslayer, shall surely die.

18 Or if with hand-weapon of wood, wherewith one might die, he smote him and he died, a manslayer he is,—the manslayer shall surely die.

19 The blood-redeemer, he shall put to death the manslayer,—when he lighteth upon him, he shall put him to death.

20 Or if with hate he shall thrust at him, or hurl at him designedly and he have died,

21 or if with enmity he hath smitten him with his hand, and he is dead, then shall he that dealt the blow be surely put to death, a manslayer he is,—the blood-redeemer shall put to death the manslayer, when he lighteth upon him.

22 But if suddenly, without enmity, he shall thrust him, or hurl upon him any missile, without design;

23 Or with any stone whereby one might die, without seeing [him], and it fall upon him, and he dieth; he not being at enmity with him, nor seeking to harm him,

24 then shall the assembly judge, between him that smote and the blood-redeemer,—according to these regulations;

25 and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the blood-redeemer, and the assembly shall restore him unto his city of refuge whither he had fled,—and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who hath been anointed with the hallowing oil.

26 But if the manslayer, go out of the bounds of his city of refuge, whereinto he hath fled;

27 and the blood-redeemer find him outside the bounds of his city of refuge, then may the blood-redeemer slay the slayer, without being guilty of blood;

28 for in his city of refuge should he have remained, until the death of the high priest,—and after the death of the high priest, might he have returned into the land which he doth possess.

29 So shall these serve you as a regulative statute unto your generations,—wheresoever ye may dwell.

30 Whosoever taketh away life, at the mouth of witnesses, shall the slayer be slain,—but one witness shall not testify against a person to put [him] to death.

31 And ye shall accept no ransom for the life of him that slayeth, if he have unlawfully caused death,—but he must surely be put to death.

32 And ye shall accept no ransom for him that hath fled to his city of refuge, if he should return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

33 So shall ye not pollute the land wherein ye are, for blood doth pollute the land,—and for the land no propitiatory-covering can be made as touching blood that is shed therein, save with the blood of him that shed it;

34 thou must not then make unclean the land wherein ye are dwelling, in the midst of which I have my habitation; for I—Yahweh am making my habitation in the midst of the sons of Israel.