Verse 2

you are to set apart three cities in the midst of the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Exod 21:13 : 13 But if he did not intend to kill, and it was allowed by God to happen, then I will provide a place where he can flee.
  • Heb 6:18 : 18 So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
  • Num 35:10-15 : 10 Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 you shall designate cities to serve as cities of refuge where someone who unintentionally kills another may flee. 12 These cities shall serve as a refuge from the avenger of blood, so that the one who killed someone unintentionally may not be put to death until they stand trial before the congregation. 13 The cities you are to give will serve as six cities of refuge. 14 Three of these cities you shall give on the east side of the Jordan, and three in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities will be a refuge for the Israelites, for the foreigner, and for the sojourner living among them, so that anyone who unintentionally kills another can flee there.
  • Deut 4:41-43 : 41 Then Moses set apart three cities east of the Jordan. 42 These were for anyone who accidentally killed a neighbor without prior hostility, so that they could flee to one of these cities and live. 43 The cities were Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
  • Josh 20:2-7 : 2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: Appoint for yourselves the cities of refuge that I spoke about to you through Moses. 3 These cities are to be a place where someone who unintentionally kills another person without malice can flee. They will serve as a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 The one who flees to one of these cities must stand at the entrance of the city gate and explain their case to the elders of that city. They should take the person into the city, provide a place for them to stay, and allow them to live among them. 5 If the avenger of blood pursues them, the city must not hand over the one who committed the killing, because they killed their neighbor unintentionally and without prior hostility. 6 The person must stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may return to their own city and home, from which they fled. 7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.