Joshua 20
Amplified Bible
Six Cities of Refuge
20 The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘Designate the cities of refuge (asylum), of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 so that the person (manslayer) who kills any person unintentionally, [a]without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall be your refuge from the [b]blood avenger.(A) 4 He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and [c]explain his case to the elders of that city; and they shall take him into [the protection of] the city and give him a place [to stay], so that he may live among them. 5 If the blood avenger pursues him, they shall not hand the offender (manslayer) over to him, because he killed his neighbor [d]unintentionally and without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. 6 He shall live in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment [and [e]if acquitted of murder he must stay there], until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then the offender (manslayer) shall return to his own city and his own house from which he fled.’”
7 So they set apart and consecrated 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. 8 Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the appointed cities for all the Israelites and for the stranger sojourning (living temporarily) among them, so that whoever killed any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the blood avenger until he had stood before the congregation [for judgment].
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 20:3 Lit without knowledge. The Hebrew terminology is not very precise, but adequate nonetheless to distinguish involuntary manslaughter from murder. In modern terms, the person who is guilty only of manslaughter must not have been aware at the time that he was actually killing a human being (like the hunter who mistakes a man for an animal of prey); or if he knew that his actions were affecting another human, he must not have been aware that those actions could result in the death of the other person. In v 5, it is also stated that the perpetrator must not have had hatred for the victim, and it is implied that if hatred was a factor, the killer is automatically ruled a murderer (cf Num 35:20, 21).
- Joshua 20:3 Lit redeemer of blood, the idea being that the one who kills the murderer of a relative redeems the guilt of the crime. The avenger was ordinarily a male next-of-kin, and he had the right, or even the responsibility, to execute the guilty party.
- Joshua 20:4 Lit speak his word in the hearing of.
- Joshua 20:5 Lit without knowledge.
- Joshua 20:6 If judged guilty, the killer would be put to death. Otherwise, the time he was required to spend in the city of refuge represented a less severe punishment for involuntary manslaughter. Afterward, he was entitled to return home and live in safety. If the blood avenger killed him then, the avenger would be guilty of murder.
Joshua 20
New American Standard Bible
Six Cities of Refuge
20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘[a]Designate (A)the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you [b]through Moses, 3 so that one who commits manslaughter by [c]killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the (B)gate of the city, and state his case in the [d]presence of the elders of that city; and they shall [e]receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them. 5 Now (C)if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously. 6 And he shall remain in that city (D)until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then [f]he shall [g]return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they [h]set apart (E)Kedesh in [i]Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in (F)the hill country of Judah. 8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they [j]designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 (G)These were the designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever [k]kills a person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 20:2 Lit Give for yourselves
- Joshua 20:2 Lit by the hand of
- Joshua 20:3 Lit striking
- Joshua 20:4 Lit ears of
- Joshua 20:4 Lit gather
- Joshua 20:6 Lit the one who committed manslaughter
- Joshua 20:6 Lit return and come
- Joshua 20:7 Lit sanctified
- Joshua 20:7 Heb Galil
- Joshua 20:8 Lit gave
- Joshua 20:9 Lit strikes
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.