New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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Then God spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho:
2 Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance that they possess, towns for the Levites to live in; you shall also give to the Levites pasture lands surrounding the towns.
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"Command the People of Israel to give the Levites as their part of the total inheritance towns to live in. Make sure there is plenty of pasture around the towns.
3 The towns shall be theirs to live in, and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle, for their livestock, and for all their animals.
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Then they will be well taken care of with towns to live in and pastures for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.
4 The pasture lands of the towns, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the town outward a thousand cubits all around.
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"The pasture surrounding the Levites' towns is to extend 1,500 feet in each direction from the city wall.
5 You shall measure, outside the town, for the east side two thousand cubits, for the south side two thousand cubits, for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, with the town in the middle; this shall belong to them as pasture land for their towns.
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The outside borders of the pasture are to measure three thousand feet on each of the four sides - east, south, west, and north - with the town at the center. Each city will be supplied with pasture.
6 The towns that you give to the Levites shall include the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit a slayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two towns.
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"Six of these towns that you give the Levites will be asylum-cities to which anyone who accidentally kills another person may flee for asylum. In addition, you will give them forty-two other towns -
7 The towns that you give to the Levites shall total forty-eight, with their pasture lands.
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forty-eight towns in all, together with their pastures.
8 And as for the towns that you shall give from the possession of the Israelites, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it obtains, shall give of its towns to the Levites.
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The towns that you give the Levites from the common inheritance of the People of Israel are to be taken in proportion to the size of each tribe - many towns from a tribe that has many, few from a tribe that has few."
9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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God spoke to Moses:
10 Speak to the Israelites, and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
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"Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When you cross the River Jordan into the country of Canaan,
11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, so that a slayer who kills a person without intent may flee there.
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designate your asylum-cities, towns to which a person who accidentally kills someone can flee for asylum.
12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, so that the slayer may not die until there is a trial before the congregation.
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They will be places of refuge from the avenger so that the alleged murderer won't be killed until he can appear before the community in court.
13 The cities that you designate shall be six cities of refuge for you:
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Provide six asylum-cities.
14 you shall designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
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Designate three of the towns to the east side of the Jordan, the other three in Canaan proper - asylum-cities
15 These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there.
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for the People of Israel, for the foreigner, and for any occasional visitors or guests - six asylum-cities to run to for anyone who accidentally kills another.
16 But anyone who strikes another with an iron object, and death ensues, is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.
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"But if the killer has used an iron object, that's just plain murder; he's obviously a murderer and must be put to death.
17 Or anyone who strikes another with a stone in hand that could cause death, and death ensues, is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.
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"Or if he has a rock in his hand big enough to kill and the man dies, that's murder; he's a murderer and must be put to death.
18 Or anyone who strikes another with a weapon of wood in hand that could cause death, and death ensues, is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.
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"Or if he's carrying a wooden club heavy enough to kill and the man dies, that's murder; he's a murderer and must be put to death.
19 The avenger of blood is the one who shall put the murderer to death; when they meet, the avenger of blood shall execute the sentence.
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"In such cases the avenger has a right to kill the murderer when he meets him - he can kill him on the spot.
20 Likewise, if someone pushes another from hatred, or hurls something at another, lying in wait, and death ensues,
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"And if out of sheer hatred a man pushes another or from ambush throws something at him and he dies,
21 or in enmity strikes another with the hand, and death ensues, then the one who struck the blow shall be put to death; that person is a murderer; the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when they meet.
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or angrily hits him with his fist and kills him, that's murder - he must be put to death. The avenger has a right to kill him when he gets him.
22 But if someone pushes another suddenly without enmity, or hurls any object without lying in wait,
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"If, however, he impulsively pushes someone and there is no history of hard feelings, or he impetuously picks up something and throws it,
23 or, while handling any stone that could cause death, unintentionally drops it on another and death ensues, though they were not enemies, and no harm was intended,
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or he accidentally drops a stone tool - a maul or hammer, say - and it hits and kills someone he didn't even know was there, and there's no suspicion that there was bad blood between them,
24 then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these ordinances;
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the community is to judge between the killer and the avenger following these guidelines.
25 and the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood. Then the congregation shall send the slayer back to the original city of refuge. The slayer shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
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It's the task of the community to save the killer from the hand of the avenger - the community is to return him to his asylum-city to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the High Priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the slayer shall at any time go outside the bounds of the original city of refuge,
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But if the murderer leaves the asylum-city to which he has fled,
27 and is found by the avenger of blood outside the bounds of the city of refuge, and is killed by the avenger, no bloodguilt shall be incurred.
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and the avenger finds him outside the borders of his asylum-city, the avenger has a right to kill the murderer. And he's not considered guilty of murder.
28 For the slayer must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; but after the death of the high priest the slayer may return home.
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"So it's important that he stay in his asylum-city until the death of the High Priest. After the death of the High Priest he is free to return to his own place.
29 These things shall be a statute and ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
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"These are the procedures for making judgments from now on, wherever you live.
30 If anyone kills another, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness.
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"Anyone who kills another may be executed only on the testimony of eyewitnesses. But no one can be executed on the testimony of only one witness.
31 Moreover you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is subject to the death penalty; a murderer must be put to death.
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"Don't accept bribe money in exchange for the life of a murderer. He's guilty and deserves the death penalty. Put him to death.
32 Nor shall you accept ransom for one who has fled to a city of refuge, enabling the fugitive to return to live in the land before the death of the high priest.
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"And don't accept bribe money for anyone who has fled to an asylum-city so as to permit him to go back and live in his own place before the death of the High Priest.
33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
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"Don't pollute the land in which you live. Murder pollutes the land. The land can't be cleaned up of the blood of murder except through the blood of the murderer.
34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites.
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"Don't desecrate the land in which you live. I live here too - I, God, live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.