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Numbers 35
Jubilee Bible 2000
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 International Version
Numbers 35
New International Version
Towns for the Levites
35 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,(A) the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in(B) from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands(C) around the towns. 3 Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.(D)
4 “The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits[a] from the town wall. 5 Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits[b](E) on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.(F)
Cities of Refuge(G)
6 “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee.(H) In addition, give them forty-two other towns. 7 In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. 8 The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”(I)
9 Then the Lord said to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,(J) 11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone(K) accidentally(L) may flee. 12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger,(M) so that anyone accused of murder(N) may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.(O) 13 These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.(P) 14 Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. 15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.
16 “‘If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.(Q) 17 Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. 18 Or if anyone is holding a wooden object and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood(R) shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death.(S) 20 If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally(T) so that they die 21 or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death;(U) that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood(V) shall put the murderer to death when they meet.
22 “‘But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally(W) 23 or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended, 24 the assembly(X) must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. 25 The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest,(Y) who was anointed(Z) with the holy oil.(AA)
26 “‘But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled 27 and the avenger of blood finds them outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. 28 The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.
29 “‘This is to have the force of law(AB) for you throughout the generations to come,(AC) wherever you live.(AD)
30 “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(AE)
31 “‘Do not accept a ransom(AF) for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.
32 “‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.
33 “‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land,(AG) and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land(AH) where you live and where I dwell,(AI) for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’”
Footnotes
- Numbers 35:4 That is, about 1,500 feet or about 450 meters
- Numbers 35:5 That is, about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters
Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)
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