Joshua 20:1-21:19

New International Version

Cities of Refuge^(A)

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally^(B) may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.^{(C) 4} When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate^(D) and state their case before the elders^(E) of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly^(F) and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh^(G) in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem^(H) in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba^(I) (that is, Hebron^(J)) in the hill country of Judah.^{(K) 8} East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer^(L) in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead^(M) in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan^(N) in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally^(O) could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.^(P)

Towns for the Levites^(Q)

21 Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel^{(R) 2} at Shiloh^(S) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns^(T) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”^{(U) 3} So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

⁴ The first lot came out for the Kohathites,^(V) according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.^{(W) 5} The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.^(X)

⁶ The descendants of Gershon^(Y) were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar,^(Z) Asher,^(AA) Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ The descendants of Merari,^(AB) according to their clans, received twelve^(AC) towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.^(AD)

⁸ So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹ From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name ¹⁰ (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):

¹⁹ The total number of towns^(AT) for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.^(AU)