Numbers 35
Jubilee Bible 2000
35 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying,
2 Command the sons of Israel that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in, and ye shall give also unto the Levites the suburbs of those cities round about them.
3 And they shall have the cities to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their animals and for their substance and for all their beasts.
4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
5 Then ye shall measure from outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the side of the Negev two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint so that the manslayer may flee there; and in addition to them ye shall give them forty-two cities.
7 So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, the cities with their suburbs.
8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the sons of Israel; from those that have much ye shall give many; but from those that have few ye shall give few, each one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his possession which he inherited.
9 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When ye have passed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 then ye shall appoint yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you that the manslayer who kills any person unawares may flee there.
12 And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger {Heb. redeemer} that the manslayer not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment.
13 And of these cities which ye shall give, six cities shall ye have for refuge.
14 Ye shall give three cities on this side of the Jordan and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the sons of Israel and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them that anyone that kills another person unawares may flee there.
16 And if he smites him with an instrument of iron so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.
17 And if he smites him by throwing a stone with which he may die, and he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.
18 Or if he smites him with a hand weapon of wood with which he may die, and he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.
19 The kinsman avenger {Heb. redeemer} of blood shall slay the murderer; when he meets him, he shall slay him.
20 But if he thrusts him out of hatred or hurls at him by laying in wait, so that he dies
21 or out of enmity smites him with his hand so that he dies, he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer; the kinsman avenger {Heb. redeemer} of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him.
22 But if he thrusts him suddenly without enmity, or has cast upon him any thing without laying in wait,
23 or with any stone, with which a man may die, seeing him not and casts it upon him that he dies, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm,
24 then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the kinsman avenger {Heb. redeemer} of blood according to these laws.
25 And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the kinsman avenger {Heb. redeemer} of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, where he has fled, and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the manslayer shall at any time come outside the border of the city of his refuge where he has fled,
27 and the kinsman avenger {Heb. redeemer} of blood finds him outside the borders of the city of his refuge, and the kinsman avenger {Heb. redeemer} of blood slays the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of his blood.
28 He should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29 So these things shall be for a statute of rights unto you throughout your ages in all your dwellings.
30 Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
31 Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be surely put to death.
32 And ye shall take no ransom for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
33 So ye shall not pollute the land where ye are, for this blood shall defile the land; and the land cannot be reconciled of the blood that is shed therein except by the blood of the one that shed it.
34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the sons of Israel.
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
Copyright © 2002 by Wycliffe Bible Translators International
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
