Towns for the Levites

1YHWH spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 2“You are to command the children of Israel to give the Levites cities to dwell in from their inheritance. Y’all are to give pasture lands for the cities around them to the Levites. 3They will have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands will be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.

4“The pasture lands of the cities, which y’all are to give to the Levites, will be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits+35:4 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. around it. 5Y’all are to measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This will be the pasture lands of their cities.

Cities of Refuge

6“Six of the cities y’all give to the Levites will be cities of refuge which y’all are to provide for a person who has killed someone to flee to. In addition, y’all are to give them forty-two cities. 7The total cities which y’all must give to the Levites is forty-eight cities together with their pasture lands. 8Of the cities that y’all give from the possession of the children of Israel, y’all should take more from the larger and fewer from the smaller tribes. According to their inheritance, each is to give some of their cities to the Levites.” 9YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 10“You are to speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When y’all cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11then y’all must appoint some cities to be cities of refuge for y’all, so that the person who kills a person accidentally may flee there. 12The cities will be for y’all’s refuge from the avenger, so that person who kill someone will not die until he stands trial before the congregation. 13The six cities y’all give will be cities of refuge for y’all. 14Y’all are to give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan. They will be cities of refuge. 15These six cities will 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.

List of Tribal Leaders

16“‘But if anyone strikes someone with an instrument of iron, and the person dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must be put to death-death. 17If anyone strikes someone with a stone capable of killing in hand, and the person died, he is a murderer. The murderer must be put to death-death. 18Or if anyone strikes someone with a wooden object capable of killing in hand, and the person died, he is a murderer. The murderer must be put to death-death. 19The blood avenger is to put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he must put him to death. 20If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled something at him while lying in wait, so that he died, 21or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him must be put to death-death. He is a murderer. The blood avenger must 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, 23or 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, 24then the congregation is to judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25The congregation must deliver the one who killed from hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation must restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He must dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

26“‘But if the murderer goes-goes beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees, 27and the blood avenger finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills the killer, he will not be guilty of blood, 28because 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 one who killed may return into the land of his possession.

29“‘This is to be for a statute and ordinance to y’all throughout y’all’s generations in all y’all’s dwellings.

30“‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death based on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

31“‘Moreover y’all must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He must be put to death-death.

32“‘Y’all must not accept a ransom for a person who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing them to come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

33“‘Y’all must not pollute the land where y’all 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 the person who shed it. 34Y’all must not defile the land where y’all live and where I dwell. For I, YHWH, dwell among the children of Israel.’”