He will stand before Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”

But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign.

“Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.

So now, kill all the male children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man,

but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not had sexual relations.

“You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.

Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the Lord commanded Moses:

Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.

Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every 500 humans, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every 50 from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

and 32,000 people, all the females who had not had sexual relations with a man.

The half portion for those who went out to war numbered:

337,500 sheep and goats,

From the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from the men who fought,

Moses took one out of every 50, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites’ half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.

The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses

‘Because they did not follow Me completely, none of the men 20 years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—

The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard the Israelites were coming.

“These are the names of the men who are to distribute the land as an inheritance for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.

“The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 other cities.

designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.

The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

“If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to,

for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses.

You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of killing someone; he must be put to death.

Neither should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to his city of refuge, allowing him to return and live in the land before the death of the high priest.

“Do not defile the land where you are, for bloodshed defiles the land, and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

The family leaders from the clan of the descendants of Gilead—the son of Machir, son of Manasseh—who were from the clans of the sons of Joseph, approached and addressed Moses and the leaders who were over the Israelite families.

Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers.

This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.

The Lord your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt.

who went before you on the journey to seek out a place for you to camp. He went in the fire by night and in the cloud by day to guide you on the road you were to travel.

Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit it.

Your little children, whom you said would be plunder, your sons who don’t know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it.

Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir as far as Hormah.

Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.

“So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the Wilderness of Moab.

This was just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now.

The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place.

just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for us, and the Moabites who live in Ar, until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.’

But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.’

Lord God, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can perform deeds and mighty acts like Yours?

Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed every one of you who followed Baal of Peor.

But you who have remained faithful to the Lord your God are all alive today.

Someone could flee there who committed manslaughter, killing his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him. He could flee to one of these cities and stay alive:

They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings who were across the Jordan to the east,

He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

You must not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.

Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the foreigner who lives within your gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you do.

For who out of all mankind has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and lived?

be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and wipe you off the face of the earth.

Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands.

But He directly pays back and destroys those who hate Him. He will not hesitate to directly pay back the one who hates Him.

The Lord will remove all sickness from you; He will not put on you all the terrible diseases of Egypt that you know about, but He will inflict them on all who hate you.

be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them and you have heard it said about them, ‘Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?’

I prayed to the Lord:

Lord God, do not annihilate Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.

But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.

He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome works your eyes have seen.

You must understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of the Lord your God:

His greatness, strong hand, and outstretched arm;

Aren’t these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks of Moreh?

You will rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

“But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you. Those who are clean or unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,

You must eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God chooses—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do,

“If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.

Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

you must bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.

You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.

This is the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach.

he may serve in the name of Yahweh his God like all his fellow Levites who minister there in the presence of the Lord.

Everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things.

But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’

You are to determine the distances and divide the land the Lord your God is granting you as an inheritance into three regions, so that anyone who commits manslaughter can flee to these cities.

“Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him:

Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die, since he did not previously hate his neighbor.

The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

“When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’

The officers will continue to address the army and say, ‘Is there any man who is afraid or cowardly? Let him leave and return home, so that his brothers’ hearts won’t melt like his own.’

“If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn’t listen to them even after they discipline him,

“A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord your God.

“If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and has sex with her,

But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die.

If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered,

the man who raped her must give the young woman’s father 50 silver shekels, and she must become his wife because he violated her. He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp.

the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.