Numbers 35

Chapter 35

Towns for the Levites

1 While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,2 “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands.3 These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.4 The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feett from the town walls in every direction.

5 Measure off 3,000 feett outside the town walls in every direction—east, south, west, north—with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns.
6 “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.7 In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites.

8 These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.”

Cities of Refuge

9 The LORD said to Moses,

10 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,11 designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally.12 These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community.13 Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves,14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan.

15 These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.
16 “But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed.17 Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.18 Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.19 The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death.20 So if someone hates another person and pushes him or throws a dangerous object at him and he dies, it is murder.

21 Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet.
22 “But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person,23 or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies.24 If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative:

25 The community must protect the slayer from the avenger and must escort the slayer back to live in the city of refuge to which he fled. There he must remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil.
26 “But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge,27 and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder.28 The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property.

29 These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.
30 “All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.31 Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death.32 And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest.33 This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.t

34 You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the LORD, who lives among the people of Israel.”

Numbers 36

Chapter 36

Women Who Inherit Property

1 Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition.2 They said, “Sir, the LORD instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the LORD to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.3 But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced.

4 Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.”
5 So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the LORD: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate.6 This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe.7 None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted.8 The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property.

9 No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses.11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father’s side.

12 They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe.

13 These are the commands and regulations that the LORD gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River across from Jericho.

Deuteronomy 1

Chapter 1

Introduction to Moses’ First Address

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valleyt near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.
2 Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinait to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.3 But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,t Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say.

4 This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who had ruled in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

5 While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD’s instructions as follows.

The Command to Leave Sinai

6 “When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.7 It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills,t the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River.

8 Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

9 Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.10 The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!11 And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!12 But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?

13 Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14 “Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’

15 So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.
16 “At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions

17 and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

18 “At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

Scouts Explore the Land

19 “Then, just as the LORD our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea,20 I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.

21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’
23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.24 They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.

25 They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the LORD our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

Israel’s Rebellion against the LORD

26 “But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.27 You complained in your tents and said, ‘The LORD must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.

28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’
29 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!30 The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.

31 And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’
32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,

33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.
34 “When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,35 ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,

36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the LORD completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’
37 “And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!38 Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it.39 I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.

40 As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.t’

41 “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the LORD! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the LORD our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

42 “But the LORD told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’
43 “This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the LORD’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight.44 But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah.45 Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.

46 So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.