Numbers 35 (The Law for Handling Murderers)

Numbers Chapter 35

The Law for Handling Murderers
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1 And the Lord spoke to Moses to the west of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 2 Give orders to the children of Israel, and they shall give to the Levites cities to dwell in from the lot of their possession, and they shall give to the Levites the suburbs of the cities round about them. 3 And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and their enclosures shall be for their cattle and all their beasts. 4 And the suburbs of the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outwards two thousand cubits round about. 5 And thou shalt 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 your city shall be in the midst of this, and the suburbs of the cities as described. 6 And ye shall give the cities to the Levites, the six cities of refuge which ye shall give for the slayer to flee thither, and in addition to these, forty-two cities. 7 Ye shall give to the Levites in all forty-eight cities, them and their suburbs. 8 And as for the cities which ye shall give out of the possession of the children of Israel, from those that have much ye shall give much, and from those that have less ye shall give less: they shall give of their cities to the Levites each one according to his inheritance which they shall inherit.

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan. 11 And ye shall appoint to yourselves cities: they shall be to you cities of refuge for the slayer to flee to, every one who has killed another unintentionally. 12 And the cities shall be to you places of refuge from the avenger of blood, and the slayer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgement. 13 And the cities which ye shall assign, even the six cities, shall be places of refuge for you. 14 Ye shall assign three cities on the other side of Jordan, and ye shall assign three cities in the land of Chanaan.

15 It shall be for a place of refuge for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for him that sojourns among you; these cities shall be for a place of refuge for every one to flee thither who has killed a man unintentionally.

16 And if he should smite him with an iron instrument, and the man should die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death. 17 And if he should smite him with a stone thrown from his hand, whereby a man may die, and he thus die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death. 18 And if he should smite him with an instrument of wood from his hand, whereby he may die, and he thus die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.

19 The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: whensoever he shall meet him he shall slay him. 20 And if he should thrust him through enmity, or cast any thing upon him from an ambuscade, and the man should die, 21 or if he have smitten him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that smote him be put to death by all means, he is a murderer: let the murderer by all means be put to death: the avenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him.

22 But if he should thrust him suddenly, not through enmity, or cast any thing upon him, not from an ambuscade, 23 or smite him with any stone, whereby a man may die, unawares, and it should fall upon him, and he should die, but he was not his enemy, nor sought to hurt him; 24 then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood, according to these judgements. 25 And the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he fled for refuge; and he shall dwell there till the death of the high-priest, whom they anointed with the holy oil.

26 But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge, 27 and the avenger of blood should find him without the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood should kill the slayer, he is not guilty. 28 For he ought to have remained in the city of refuge till the high-priest died; and after the death of the high-priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession.

29 And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgement throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoever kills a man, thou shalt slay the murderer on the testimony of witnesses; and one witness shall not testify against a soul that he should die. 31 And ye shall not accept ransoms for life from a murderer who is worthy of death, for he shall be surely put to death. 32 Ye shall not accept a ransom to execute his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest. 33 So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.