Cities for the Levites

35 The Lord spoke to Moses in ^(A)the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ^2 (B)“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. ³ The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. ⁴ The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits^[a] all around. ⁵ And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side 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, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.

⁶ “The cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^(C)the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^(D)forty-eight, with their pasturelands. ⁸ And as for the cities that you shall give ^(E)from the possession of the people of Israel, ^(F)from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(G)When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ^11 (H)then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. ¹² The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. ¹³ And the cities that you give shall be your ^(I)six cities of refuge. ^14 (J)You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and ^(K)for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.

^16 (L)“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁷ And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ^19 (M)The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, ^(N)lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹ or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. ^(O)The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him ^(P)without lying in wait ²³ or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, ²⁴ then ^(Q)the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and ^(R)the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. ²⁵ And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it ^(S)until the death of the high priest ^(T)who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, ²⁷ and ^(U)the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. ²⁸ For he must remain in his city of refuge ^(V)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 for ^(W)a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³⁰ “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the ^(X)evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. ³² And you shall accept 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 high priest. ³³ You shall not ^(Y)pollute the land in which you live, for blood ^(Z)pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except ^(AA)by the blood of the one who shed it. ^34 (AB)You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, ^(AC)for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

Marriage of Female Heirs

36 The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the ^(AD)people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel. ² They said, ^(AE)“The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and ^(AF)my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³ But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. ⁴ And when ^(AG)the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

⁵ And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph ^(AH)is right. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, ^(AI)only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. ⁷ The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel ^(AJ)shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸ And ^(AK)every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹ So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”

¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses, ^11 (AL)for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father's brothers. ¹² They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan.

¹³ These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel ^(AM)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

The Sermon on the Mount

5 Seeing the crowds, ^(A)he went up on the mountain, and when he ^(B)sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

² And ^(C)he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

^3 (D)“Blessed are ^(E)the poor in spirit, for ^(F)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(G)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the ^(H)meek, for they ^(I)shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and ^(J)thirst ^(K)for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(L)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(M)the pure in heart, for ^(N)they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are ^(O)the peacemakers, for ^(P)they shall be called ^(Q)sons^[a] of God.

^10 (R)“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for ^(S)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

^11 (T)“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^(U)on my account. ^12 (V)Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^(W)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, ^(X)but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

^14 (Y)“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ^15 (Z)Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ^(AA)that^[b] they may see your good works and ^(AB)give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

^17 (AC)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(AD)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(AE)to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, ^(AF)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ^19 (AG)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(AH)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(AI)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(AJ)in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^(AK)that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^(AL)will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

^21 (AM)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(AN)‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^(AO)to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(AP)everyone who is angry with his brother^[c] will be liable ^(AQ)to judgment; whoever insults^[d] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^(AR)the hell^[e] of fire. ^23 (AS)So if ^(AT)you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25 (AU)Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(AV)you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[f]