Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites (Joshua 21:1–45; 1 Chronicles 6:54–81)
1 DBY And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying, BSB BSB: Again the LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho:
2 DBY Command the children of Israel, that of the inheritance of their possession they give unto the Levites cities to dwell in; and a suburb for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites. BSB BSB: “Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities.
3 DBY And the cities shall they have to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. BSB BSB: The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock.
4 DBY And the suburbs of the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be from the walls of the city outward, a thousand cubits round about. BSB BSB: The pasturelands around the cities you are to give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the wall on every side.
5 DBY And ye shall measure, without the city, the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst: they shall have this as suburbs of the cities. BSB BSB: You 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.
6 DBY And among the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither, — and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities: BSB BSB: Six 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.
7 DBY all the cities that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs. BSB BSB: The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, with their corresponding pasturelands.
8 DBY And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have much ye shall take much, and from them that have little ye shall take little; each one according to his inheritance which he will inherit shall give of his cities to the Levites. BSB BSB: The 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.”
Six Cities of Refuge (Deuteronomy 4:41–43; Deuteronomy 19:1–14; Joshua 20:1–9)
9 DBY And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
10 DBY Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, BSB BSB: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 DBY then ye shall appoint for yourselves cities: cities of refuge shall they be for you; that a manslayer may flee thither, who without intent smiteth a person mortally. BSB BSB: designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.
12 DBY And ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment. BSB BSB: You 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.
13 DBY And the cities that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you. BSB BSB: The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge.
14 DBY Three cities shall ye give on this side of the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. BSB BSB: Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge.
15 DBY For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them shall these six cities be a refuge, that one who smiteth a person mortally without intent may flee thither. BSB BSB: These 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.
16 DBY And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death. BSB BSB: If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.
17 DBY And if he have smitten him with a stone from the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death. BSB BSB: Or 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.
18 DBY Or if he have smitten him with an instrument of wood, in the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death; BSB BSB: If 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.
19 DBY the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. BSB BSB: The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.
20 DBY And if he thrust at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die, BSB BSB: Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him,
21 DBY or from enmity smite him with his hand, so that he die, he that smote him shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him. — BSB BSB: or 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.
22 DBY But if he have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally, BSB BSB: But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally,
23 DBY or have smitten him with any stone wherewith one may die, without seeing him, and have cast it upon him so that he die, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: BSB BSB: or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him,
24 DBY then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these judgments; BSB BSB: then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
25 DBY and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; and he shall abide in it until the death of the high-priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. BSB BSB: The 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.
26 DBY But if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled, BSB BSB: But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled
27 DBY and the avenger of blood find him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer, there shall be no blood-guiltiness upon him; BSB BSB: and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed,
28 DBY for the manslayer should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high-priest; but after the death of the high-priest he may return into the land of his possession. BSB BSB: because 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.
29 DBY And this shall be unto you a statute of right throughout your generations in all your dwellings. BSB BSB: This will be a statutory ordinance for you for the generations to come, wherever you live.
30 DBY Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die. BSB BSB: If 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.
32 DBY And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. BSB BSB: Nor 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.
33 DBY And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. BSB BSB: Do 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.
34 DBY And ye shall not defile the land that ye inhabit, in the midst whereof I dwell; for I am Jehovah who dwell in the midst of the children of Israel. BSB BSB: Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”