Six Cities of Refuge (Numbers 35:9–34; Deuteronomy 4:41–43; Deuteronomy 19:1–14)
1 ULT And Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Joshua,
2 ULT “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying,‘Give for yourselves the cities of refuge that I spoke to you by the hand of Moses BSB BSB: “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,
3 ULT for the fleeing there of the one killing{ by} striking a person by mistake without intent. And they will be for you for a refuge from the avenger of blood. BSB BSB: so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 ULT And he shall flee to one from these cities and stand{ at} the entrance of the gate of the city, and he shall speak his words in the ears of the elders of that city. And they shall gather him into the city to themselves, and they shall give to him a place, and he shall dwell with them. BSB BSB: When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.
5 ULT And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, then they shall not deliver the one having killed into his hand. For without knowledge he struck his neighbor, and he was not hating him from yesterday{ or} the third day. BSB BSB: Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.
6 ULT And he shall dwell in that city until his standing to the face of the congregation for judgment, until the death of the great priest who is in those days. Then the one having killed may return and enter into his city and into his house, into the city that he fled from there.’” BSB BSB: He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.”
7 ULT And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba(it is Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. BSB BSB: So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
8 ULT And from the other side of the Jordan, to Jericho from the sunrise, they gave Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. BSB BSB: And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.
9 ULT These were the cities of appointment for all of the sons of Israel and for the sojourner who sojourned in the midst of them, for the fleeing there of anyone striking a person by mistake, and he would not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood to the face of the congregation. BSB BSB: These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.