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Joshua 20
King James Version
Joshua 20
King James Version
20 The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.
6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.
7 And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
8 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
Joshua 20
1599 Geneva Bible
Joshua 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 2 The Lord commandeth Joshua to appoint cities of refuge. 3 The use thereof, 7 and their names.
1 The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say, (A)Appoint you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses,
3 That the slayer that killeth any person [a]by ignorance, and unwittingly, may flee thither, and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 And he that doth flee unto one of those cities, shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall show his cause [b]to the Elders of the city: and they shall receive him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell with them.
5 And if the [c]avenger of blood pursue after him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he smote his neighbor ignorantly, neither hated he him beforetime:
6 But he shall dwell in that city until he stand before the Congregation in [d]judgment, (B)or until the death of the high Priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, even unto the city from whence he fled.
7 ¶ Then they appointed Kedesh in [e]Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba, (which is Hebron) in the mountain of Judah.
8 And on the other side Jordan toward Jericho Eastward, they appointed (C)Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead, out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, out of the [f]tribe of Manasseh.
9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourned among them, that whosoever killed any person ignorantly, might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the [g]Congregation.
Footnotes
- Joshua 20:3 At unawares, and bearing him no grudge.
- Joshua 20:4 Hebrew, in the ears of the Elders.
- Joshua 20:5 That is, the nearest kinsman of him that is slain.
- Joshua 20:6 Till his cause were proved.
- Joshua 20:7 Or, Galilee.
- Joshua 20:8 Out of the half tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan.
- Joshua 20:9 Before the Judges.
Joshua 20
The Message
Joshua 20
The Message
Asylum-Cities
20 1-3 Then God spoke to Joshua: “Tell the People of Israel: Designate the asylum-cities, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally—that is, unintentionally—may flee there as a safe place of asylum from the avenger of blood.
4 “A person shall escape for refuge to one of these cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate, and lay out his case before the city’s leaders. The leaders must then take him into the city among them and give him a place to live with them.
5-6 “If the avenger of blood chases after him, they must not give him up—he didn’t intend to kill the person; there was no history of ill-feeling. He may stay in that city until he has stood trial before the congregation and until the death of the current high priest. Then he may go back to his own home in his hometown from which he fled.”
7 They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hills of Naphtali, Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hills of Judah.
8-9 On the other side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the desert plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. These were the designated cities for the People of Israel and any resident foreigner living among them, so that anyone who killed someone unintentionally could flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood without a fair trial before the congregation.
Joshua 20
New International Version
Joshua 20
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)
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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The Message (MSG)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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