| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Again the LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho: | 1While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses, |
| 2“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities. | 2“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. |
| 3The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock. | 3These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. |
| 4The pasturelands around the cities you are to give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the wall on every side. | 4The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction. |
| 5You are also to measure two thousand cubits outside the city on the east, two thousand on the south, two thousand on the west, and two thousand on the north, with the city in the center. These areas will serve as larger pasturelands for the cities. | 5Measure off 3,000 feet outside the town walls in every direction—east, south, west, north—with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns. |
| 6Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities. | 6“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. |
| 7The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, with their corresponding pasturelands. | 7In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. |
| 8The cities that you apportion from the territory of the Israelites should be given to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one.” | 8These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.” Cities of Refuge |
| 9Then the LORD said to Moses, | 9The LORD said to Moses, |
| 10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, | 10“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, |
| 11designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. | 11designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally. |
| 12You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. | 12These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. |
| 13The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. | 13Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, |
| 14Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge. | 14three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. |
| 15These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there. | 15These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety. |
| 16If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. | 16“But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. |
| 17Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. | 17Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. |
| 18If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. | 18Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. |
| 19The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him. | 19The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death. |
| 20Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him, | 20So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder. |
| 21or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him. | 21Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet. |
| 22But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally, | 22“But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person, |
| 23or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him, | 23or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies. |
| 24then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. | 24If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative: |
| 25The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. | 25The community must protect the slayer from the avenger and must escort the slayer back to live in the city of refuge to which he fled. There he must remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil. |
| 26But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled | 26“But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge, |
| 27and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed | 27and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder. |
| 28because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns. | 28The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property. |
| 29This will be a statutory ordinance for you for the generations to come, wherever you live. | 29These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live. |
| 30If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness. | 30“All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. |
| 31You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death. | 31Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. |
| 32Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. | 32And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. |
| 33Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. | 33This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder. |
| 34Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.” | 34You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the LORD, who lives among the people of Israel.” |
|
