² you shall set apart three cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.^(A)

¹³ If it was not premeditated but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.^(A)

¹⁸ so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.^(A)

² “Say to the Israelites: Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,^{(A) 3} so that anyone who kills a person without intent or by mistake may flee there; they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ The slayer shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain the case to the elders of that city; then the fugitive shall be taken into the city and given a place and shall remain with them.^{(B) 5} And if the avenger of blood is in pursuit, they shall not give up the slayer because the neighbor was killed by mistake, there having been no enmity between them before.^{(C) 6} The slayer shall remain in that city until there is a trial before the congregation, until the death of the one who is high priest at the time; then the slayer may return home, to the town in which the deed was done.”^(D)

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.^(E)

Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan

⁴¹ Then Moses set apart on the east side of the Jordan three cities^{(A) 42} to which a homicide could flee, someone who unintentionally kills another person, the two not having been at enmity before; the homicide could flee to one of these cities and live: ⁴³ Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, so that a slayer who kills a person without intent may flee there.^{(A) 12} The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, so that the slayer may not die until there is a trial before the congregation.^(B)

¹³ “The cities that you designate shall be six cities of refuge for you: ¹⁴ you shall designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there.^(C)