Numbers 35
New King James Version
Cities for the Levites
35 And the Lord spoke to Moses in (A)the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying: 2 (B)“Command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites (C)common-land around the cities. 3 They shall have the cities to dwell in; and their common-land shall be for their cattle, for their herds, and for all their animals. 4 The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around. 5 And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities.
6 “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint (D)six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities. 7 So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be (E)forty-eight; these you shall give with their common-land. 8 And the cities which you will give shall be (F)from the possession of the children of Israel; (G)from the larger tribe you shall give many, from the smaller you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites, in proportion to the inheritance that each receives.”
Cities of Refuge(H)
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (I)‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then (J)you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there. 12 (K)They shall be cities of refuge for you from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment. 13 And of the cities which you give, you shall have (L)six cities of refuge. 14 (M)You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the children of Israel, (N)for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there.
16 (O)‘But if he strikes him with an iron implement, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 And if he strikes him with a stone in the hand, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 (P)The[a] avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 (Q)If he pushes him out of hatred or, (R)while lying in wait, hurls something at him so that he dies, 21 or in enmity he strikes him with his hand so that he dies, the one 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 ‘However, if he pushes him suddenly (S)without enmity, or throws anything at him without lying in wait, 23 or uses a stone, by which a man could die, throwing it at him without seeing him, so that he dies, while he was not his enemy or seeking his harm, 24 then (T)the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. 25 So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and (U)he shall remain there until the death of the high priest (V)who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of [b]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 manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
29 ‘And these things shall be (W)a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the (X)testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. 31 Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. 32 And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. 33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood (Y)defiles the land, and no [c]atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except (Z)by the blood of him who shed it. 34 Therefore (AA)do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for (AB)I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.’ ”
Footnotes
- Numbers 35:19 A family member who is to avenge the victim
- Numbers 35:27 Murder
- Numbers 35:33 Lit. covering
Numbers 35
Complete Jewish Bible
35 (LY: v) In the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden, across from Yericho, Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Order the people of Isra’el to give to the L’vi’im cities to live in from the heritage they will possess, and you are also to give the L’vi’im some of the open land surrounding the cities. 3 They are to have the cities to live in, while their open land will be for their livestock, for growing crops and for all their animals. 4 The open land around the cities you give to the L’vi’im is to commence at a line drawn around the city wall 1,500 feet outside it and is to extend outward from there. 5 Measure 3,000 feet outward from the city wall to the east, south, west and north, with the city in the center. The space between the 1,500-foot line and the 3,000-foot line will be their open land around the cities. 6 The cities you give to the L’vi’im are to be the six cities of refuge to which you permit the person who kills someone to flee to; plus an additional forty-two cities. 7 Thus you will give the L’vi’im forty-eight cities, with their surrounding open land. 8 As to the cities you will give from those the people of Isra’el possess, from the many you will take many, and from the few you will take few — each tribe will contribute from its cities to the L’vi’im in accordance with the size of its inheritance.”
(RY: vii, LY: vi) 9 Adonai said to Moshe, 10 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When you cross the Yarden into the land of Kena‘an, 11 you are to designate for yourselves cities that will be cities of refuge for you, to which anyone who kills someone by mistake can flee. 12 These cities are to be a refuge for you from the dead person’s next-of-kin, who might otherwise avenge his kinsman’s death by slaying the killer prior to his standing trial before the community. 13 In regard to the cities you are to give, there are to be six cities of refuge for you. 14 You are to give three cities east of the Yarden and three cities in the land of Kena‘an; they will be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities will serve as refuge for the people of Isra’el, as well as for the foreigner and resident alien with them; so that anyone who kills someone by mistake may flee there.
16 “‘However, if he hits him with an iron implement and thus causes his death, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 17 Or if he hits him with a stone in his hand big enough to kill someone, and he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 18 Or if he hits him with a wood utensil in his hand capable of killing someone, and he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 19 The next-of-kin avenger is to put the murderer to death himself — upon meeting him, he is to put him to death. 20 Likewise, if he shoves him out of hatred; or intentionally throws something at him, causing his death; 21 or out of hostility strikes him with his hand, so that he dies; then the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer; and the next-of-kin avenger is to put the murderer to death upon meeting him.
22 “‘But suppose he shoves him suddenly, but without hostility; or he throws something at him unintentionally; 23 or, without seeing him, being his enemy or seeking to harm him, he throws a stone big enough to cause death; and the person dies. 24 Then the community is to judge between the one who struck him and the next-of-kin avenger in accordance with these rules; 25 and the community is to save the killer from the next-of-kin avenger. The community is to return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he is to live there until the cohen hagadol, who was anointed with the holy oil, dies. 26 But if the killer ever goes beyond the limits of the city of refuge he fled to, 27 and the next-of-kin avenger finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger kills the killer, he will not be guilty of the man’s blood; 28 because he must stay in his city of refuge until the death of the cohen hagadol. But after the death of the cohen hagadol the killer may return to the land he owns. 29 These things shall constitute your standard for judgment through all your generations, wherever you live.
30 “‘If anyone kills someone, the murderer is to be put to death upon the testimony of witnesses; but the testimony of only one witness will not suffice to cause a person to be put to death. 31 Also, you are not to accept a ransom in lieu of the life of a murderer condemned to death; rather, he must be put to death. 32 Likewise, you are not to accept for someone who has fled to his city of refuge a ransom that would allow him to return to his land before the death of the cohen. 33 In this way you will not defile the land in which you are living. For blood defiles the land, and in this land no atonement can be made for the blood shed in it except the blood of him who shed it. 34 No, you are not to defile the land in which you live and in which I live; for I, Adonai, live among the people of Isra’el.’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.