20 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 2 ‘Tell the Israelite people to choose special cities as safe places. I told Moses that you should do this. 3 Anyone can be safe in these cities if he has killed someone but he did not mean to kill. A person like that must run to one of these towns and he will be safe from the dead person's relative. [ a ]
4 The person who killed someone must go to the special city. When he arrives, he must stand at the gate of the city. There he must tell the leaders what he has done. Then they must take him into the city. They must give him a place to stay so that he can live there. 5 The dead person's relative may chase after the killer. The leaders of the city must not let him hurt the killer. This is because the killer did not mean to kill. 6 The killer must stay inside that city. The judges there will decide if he is not guilty of murder. Then he must wait until the leader of the priests dies. After that, he is free to return to the town that he came from.’
7 So they chose these towns: 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 They also chose these towns beyond Jericho, on the east side of Jordan River: Bezer (in the flat desert land of Reuben), Ramoth in Gilead (on Gad's land), Golan in Bashan (on Manasseh's land).
9 Any Israelite or foreign person living in Israel could run to these cities and be safe. They may have killed someone, but they did not mean to kill them. If they run to these cities, the dead person's relative could not kill them. The judges in the city had to decide whether a killer was guilty of murder. Nobody could kill them before the judges decided.
20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “Through Moses, I told you to choose some cities to be cities of safety. 3 Anyone who kills someone accidentally can go to a city of safety to hide from the relatives who want to kill him.
4 “If you accidentally kill someone and you run away to one of those cities, you must stop at the entrance of the city and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then the leaders can allow you to enter the city. They will give you a place to live among them. 5 If someone chases you and follows you to that city, the leaders of the city must not give you up. They must protect you because you came to them for safety after killing someone by accident—you were not angry and did not plan to kill the person. It was something that just happened. 6 You should stay in that city until the court has judged you and until the high priest dies. Then you may go back to your hometown.”
7 So the Israelites chose some cities to be called cities of safety. These are the cities: Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in the hill country of Judah; 8 Bezer, east of the Jordan River across from Jericho, in the desert area in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh.
9 All Israelites or any foreigners living among them who killed someone by accident were allowed to run away to one of these cities of safety. They could be safe there and not be killed by anyone chasing them. The court in that city would judge them.
20 The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.
6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.
7 And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
8 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ [ a ] Designate ( A ) the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you [ b ] through Moses, 3 so that one who commits manslaughter by [ c ] killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the ( B ) gate of the city, and state his case in the [ d ] presence of the elders of that city; and they shall [ e ] receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them. 5 Now ( C ) if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously. 6 And he shall remain in that city ( D ) until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then [ f ] he shall [ g ] return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they [ h ] set apart ( E ) Kedesh in [ i ] Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in ( F ) the hill country of Judah. 8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they [ j ] designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 ( G ) These were the designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever [ k ] kills a person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.
20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally ( B ) may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. ( C ) 4 When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate ( D ) and state their case before the elders ( E ) of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. 5 If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. 6 They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly ( F ) and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”
7 So they set apart Kedesh ( G ) in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem ( H ) in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba ( I ) (that is, Hebron ( J ) ) in the hill country of Judah. ( K ) 8 East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer ( L ) in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead ( M ) in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan ( N ) in the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally ( O ) could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly. ( P )
