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Cities of Refuge Established

Joshua 20:1-9

20
Chapter 20
1 And the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, "Give yourselves the cities of refuge which I spoke to you through Moses." 3 to flee there—a murderer who strikes a vital life force in inadvertent error without knowledge—and they shall be to you for refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And he flees to one of these cities and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city and speaks in the ears of the elders of that city his words, and they gather him into the city to them and grant him a place, and he dwells with them. 5 And if the blood avenger pursues him and they do not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his companion without knowledge and he did not hate him from yesterday, three days ago. 6 And he shall dwell in that city until they stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest who will be in those days. Then the manslayer shall return and come to his city and to his house, to the city from which he fled. 7 And they sanctified Kedesh in Galilee in the mountain of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountain of Ephraim, and the city of Arba—which is Hebron—in the mountain of Judah. 8 And beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they gave Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the cities of refuge for all the sons of Israel and for the sojourner sojourning among them, to flee there—every striker of a nephesh in unintentional killing—and he shall not die by the hand of the blood redeemer until they stand before the congregation.