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Cities of Refuge^(a)

¹ Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally^(b) may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.^{(c) 4} When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate^(d) and state their case before the elders^(e) of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly^(f) and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled."

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh^(g) in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem^(h) in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba⁽ⁱ⁾ (that is, Hebron^(j)) in the hill country of Judah.^{(k) 8} East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer^(l) in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead^(m) in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan⁽ⁿ⁾ in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally^(o) could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.^(p)