Numbers 35 · Parashat Masei

And the Lord spoke to Moshe in the plains of Mo᾽av by Yarden near Yereĥo saying,

Command the children of Yisra᾽el, that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and you shall give also to the Levites an open space for the cities round about them.

And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their open spaces shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

And the open spaces of the cities, that you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outwards a thousand cubits round about.

And you shall measure from 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 shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the open spaces of the cities.

And among the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be six cities of refuge, which you shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee there: and to them you shall add forty two cities.

So all the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty eight cities: both them and their open spaces.

And the cities which you shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Yisra᾽el: from them that have many you shall give many: and from them that have few you shall give few: every one shall give of the cities to the Levites according to his inheritance which he inherits.

And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying,

Speak to the children of Yisra᾽el, and say to them, When you come over the Yarden into the land of Kena῾an;

then you shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer who kills any person unawares may flee thither.

And they shall be to you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.

And the cities which you shall give shall be six cities for refuge.

You shall give three cities on this side of the Yarden, and three cities shall you give in the land of Kena῾an; cities of refuge shall they be.

These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Yisra᾽el, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that everyone that kills any person unawares may flee there.

And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

And if he smite him by hand with a stone, whereby he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

Or if he smite him with a hand weapon of wood, whereby he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meets him, he shall slay him.

And if he thrust him out of hatred, or hurl something at him whilst lying in wait, that he die;

or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he encounters him.

But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or cast upon him anything without lying in wait,

or with any stone, whereby a man may die, but without seeing him, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, nor sought his harm:

then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:

and the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

But if the slayer shall at any time come outside the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;

and the revenger of blood find him outside the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:

because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession.

So these things shall be for a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.

And you shall take no ransom for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come back to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

So you shall not pollute the land in which you are: for blood pollutes the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

And thou shalt not defile the land which you shall inhabit, in which I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Yisra᾽el.