Joshua 20

1And Jehovah spake unto Joshua, saying,

1Then the LORD spoke to Joshua:

2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by Moses,

2'Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, just as I instructed you through Moses.

3that the manslayer that killeth any person unwittingly and unawares may flee thither: and they shall be unto you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

3Anyone who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there to find safety from the dead person's relative who wants to take revenge.

4And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

4When someone flees to one of these cities, they must stand at the entrance of the city gate and explain their situation to the city leaders. The leaders will then welcome them into the city and give them a place to live.

5And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he smote his neighbor unawares, and hated him not beforetime.

5If the relative seeking revenge pursues them, the city leaders must not hand the person over, because the killing was accidental and not done out of hatred.

6And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the manslayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

6The person must stay in that city until they stand trial before the community and until the death of the current high priest. After that, they may return to their own home in the town they fled from.'

7And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah.

7So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

8And beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

8On the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho, they chose Bezer in the desert plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

9These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person unwittingly might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

9These were the designated cities for all Israelites and for any foreigners living among them. Anyone who killed someone unintentionally could flee there to avoid being killed by a vengeful relative before standing trial before the community.