Numbers 35:6-34

6“The cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^athe six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. 7All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^bforty-eight, with their pasturelands. 8And as for the cities that you shall give ^cfrom the possession of the people of Israel, ^dfrom the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

Cities of Refuge

9And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^eWhen you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 ^fthen you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. 12The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13And the cities that you give shall be your ^gsix cities of refuge. 14 ^hYou shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. 15These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and ⁱfor the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.

16 ^j“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 17And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 18Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 19 ^kThe avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, ^llying in wait, so that he died, 21or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. ^mThe avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

22“But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him ⁿwithout lying in wait 23or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, 24then ^othe congregation shall judge between the manslayer and ^pthe avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. 25And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it ^quntil the death of the high priest ^rwho was anointed with the holy oil. 26But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, 27and ^sthe avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. 28For he must remain in his city of refuge ^tuntil the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29And these things shall be for ^ua statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

30“If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the ^vevidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 31Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. 32And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. 33You shall not ^wpollute the land in which you live, for blood ^xpollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except ^yby the blood of the one who shed it. 34 ^zYou shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, ^aafor I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”