Bemiḏbar (Numbers) 35

Num 35:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the
Yardĕn of Yeriḥo, saying,
Num 35:2 “Command the children of Yisra’ĕl that they shall give the
Lĕwites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession. Also give
the Lĕwites open land around the cities.
Num 35:3 “And they shall have the cities to dwell in, and their open land for
their cattle, and for their herds, and for all their livestock.
Num 35:4 “And the open land of the cities which you give the Lĕwites are
from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.
Num 35:5 “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. And the
city is in the middle. This is to them the open land for the cities.
Num 35:6 “And the cities which you give to the Lĕwites are the six cities of
refuge, which you give to him who killed someone to flee to, and to these you
add forty-two cities.
Num 35:7 “All the cities which you give to the Lĕwites are forty-eight, these
with their open land.
Num 35:8 “And the cities which you give are from the possession of the
children of Yisra’ĕl. From the larger tribe you give many, from the smaller
you give few, each one gives some of its cities to the Lĕwites, in proportion
to the inheritance that each inherits.”
Num 35:9 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 35:10 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When you
pass over the Yardĕn into the land of Kena‛an,
Num 35:11 then you shall choose cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the
one who accidentally killed someone shall flee there.
Num 35:12 ‘And they shall be cities of refuge for you from the revenger, and
the one who killed someone is not to die until he stands before the
congregation in right-ruling.
Num 35:13 ‘And of the cities which you give, six are to be cities of refuge.
Num 35:14 ‘Give three cities beyond the Yardĕn, and give three cities in the
land of Kena‛an, as cities of refuge.
Num 35:15 ‘These six cities are for refuge for the children of Yisra’ĕl, and
for the sojourner, and for the settler in their midst, for anyone who
accidentally kills someone to flee there.
Num 35:16 ‘But if he has smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he
dies, he is a murderer. The murderer shall certainly be put to death.
Num 35:17 ‘And if he has smitten him with a stone in the hand, by which one
could die, and he does die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall certainly be
put to death.
Num 35:18 ‘Or if he has smitten him with a wooden instrument that could
kill, and he does die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall certainly be put to
death.
Num 35:19 ‘The revenger of blood himself puts the murderer to death. When
he meets him, he puts him to death.
Num 35:20 ‘And if he thrusts him through in hatred, or throws an object at
him while lying in wait, so that he dies,
Num 35:21 or in enmity he smites him with his hand so that he dies, the one
who smote him shall certainly be put to death, for he is a murderer. The
revenger of blood puts the murderer to death when he meets him.
Num 35:22 ‘But if he pushes him suddenly without enmity, or throws an
object at him without lying in wait,
Num 35:23 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,
Num 35:24 then the congregation shall judge between him who killed
someone and the revenger of blood, according to these right-rulings.
Num 35:25 ‘And the congregation shall rescue the one who killed someone
from the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him
to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the
death of the high priest who was anointed with the set-apart oil.
Num 35:26 ‘But if the one who killed someone at any time goes outside the
limits of the city of refuge where he fled,
Num 35:27 and the revenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city
of refuge, and the revenger of blood kills him who killed someone, he is not
guilty of blood,
Num 35:28 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 he who killed
someone is to return to the land of his possession.
Num 35:29 ‘And these shall be for a law of right-ruling to you throughout
your generations in all your dwellings.
Num 35:30 ‘Whoever kills someone has to be put to death as a murderer by
the mouth of witnesses, but only one witness does not bear witness against
someone to die.
Num 35:31 ‘And take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of
death, but he shall certainly be put to death.
Num 35:32 ‘And take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge to
return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.
Num 35:33 ‘And do not profane the land where you are, for blood profanes
the land, and the land is not pardoned for the blood that is shed on it, except
by the blood of him who shed it.
Num 35:34 ‘And do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of
which I dwell, for I, יהוה, am dwelling in the midst of the children of
Yisra’ĕl.’ ”