Numbers 35

Towns for the Levites

1 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,2 "Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.3 Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.

4 "The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubitst from the town wall.5 Outside the town, measure two thousand cubitst on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.

Cities of Refuge

6 "Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.7 In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands.8 The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few."

9 Then the Lord said to Moses:10 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee.12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.13 These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.14 Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

16 "'If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.17 Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.18 Or if anyone is holding a wooden object and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.19 The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death.20 If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally so that they die21 or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death; that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when they meet.

22 "'But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally23 or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended,24 the assembly must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to these regulations.25 The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

26 "'But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled27 and the avenger of blood finds them outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder.28 The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.

29 "'This is to have the force of law for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.

30 "'Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

31 "'Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.

32 "'Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.

33 "'Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.34 Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.'"

Numbers 36

Inheritance of Zelophehad's Daughters

1 The family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses and the leaders, the heads of the Israelite families.2 They said, "When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.3 Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away.4 When the Year of Jubilee for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our ancestors."

5 Then at the Lord's command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: "What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right.6 This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad's daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father's tribal clan.7 No inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors.8 Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father's tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors.9 No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits."

10 So Zelophehad's daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses.11 Zelophehad's daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah—married their cousins on their father's side.12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father's tribe and clan.

13 These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Deuteronomy 1

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)

3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.

5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:

6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them."

The Appointment of Leaders

9 At that time I said to you, "You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone.10 The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you."

14 You answered me, "What you propose to do is good."

15 So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.16 And I charged your judges at that time, "Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you.17 Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it."18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.

Spies Sent Out

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.20 Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

22 Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to."

23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it.25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, "It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us."

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.27 You grumbled in your tents and said, "The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.'"

29 Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes,31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God,33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

34 When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore:35 "No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly."

37 Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, "You shall not enter it, either.38 But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it.39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.t"

41 Then you replied, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us." So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

42 But the Lord said to me, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.'"

43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord's command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country.44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.45 You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you.46 And so you stayed in Kadesh many days—all the time you spent there.