Cities for the Levites

35 ^(A)Now Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. ³ And the cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.

⁴ “And the pasture lands of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city ^[a]outward ^[b]one thousand cubits around. ⁵ You shall also measure outside the city on the east side ^[c]two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.

Cities of Refuge

⁶ And the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the ^(B)six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be ^(C)forty-eight cities, ^[d]together with their pasture lands. ^8 (D)Now as for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger, and you shall take less from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his possession which he inherits.”

² And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “^(A)Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.”