1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying, 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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: 7 all the cities that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs. 8 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.

9 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 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. 12 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. 13 And the cities that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you. 14 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. 15 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.

16 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. 17 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. 18 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; 19 the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. 20 And if he thrust at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die, 21 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. --

22 But if he have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally, 23 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: 24 then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these judgments; 25 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. 26 But if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled, 27 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; 28 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.

29 And this shall be unto you a statute of right throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 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. 31 And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death. 32 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. 33 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. 34 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.