¹⁵ These six cities shall be refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreigner living among them, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

¹⁶ “‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁷ If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁹ The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled something at him while lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹ or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait, ²³ or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him so that he died, and he was not his enemy and not seeking his harm, ²⁴ then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. ²⁵ The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶ “‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees, ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, ²⁸ because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

²⁹ “‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³⁰ “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.

³¹ “‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall surely be put to death.

³² “‘You shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

³³ “‘So you shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it. ³⁴ You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell among the children of Israel.’”

⁷ Nathan said to David, “You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. ⁹ Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’

¹¹ “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’”

¹³ David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.”

Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.”