Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee.

and have prepared to yourselves cities -- cities of refuge they are to you -- then fled thither hath a man-slayer, smiting a person unawares,

for the fleeing thither of a man-slayer smiting life inadvertently, without knowledge; and they have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer of blood.


And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'Fear not, nor be affrighted, take with thee all the people of war, and rise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land, and thou hast done to Ai and to her king as thou hast done to Jericho and to her king; only, its spoil and its cattle ye spoil for yourselves; set for thee an ambush for the city at its rear.'

And it cometh to pass after the death of Moses, servant of Jehovah, that Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua son of Nun, minister of Moses, saying, 'Moses my servant is dead, and now, rise, pass over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 'Every place on which the sole of your foot treadeth, to you I have given it, as I have spoken unto Moses. read more.
From this wilderness and Lebanon, and unto the great river, the river Phrath, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great Sea -- the going in of the sun -- is your border. 'No man doth station himself before thee all days of thy life; as I have been with Moses, I am with thee, I do not fail thee, nor forsake thee; be strong and courageous, for thou -- thou dost cause this people to inherit the land which I have sworn to their fathers to give to them. Only, be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded thee; thou dost not turn aside from it right or left, so that thou dost act wisely in every place whither thou goest; the book of this law doth not depart out of thy mouth, and thou hast meditated in it by day and by night, so that thou dost observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then thou dost cause thy way to prosper, and then thou dost act wisely. Have not I commanded thee? be strong and courageous; be not terrified nor affrighted, for with thee is Jehovah thy God in every place whither thou goest.'

And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'See, I have given into thy hand Jericho and its king -- mighty ones of valour, and ye have compassed the city -- all the men of battle -- going round the city once; thus thou dost six days; and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark, and on the seventh day ye compass the city seven times, and the priests blow with the trumpets, read more.
and it hath been, in the prolongation of the horn of the jubilee, in your hearing the voice of the trumpet, all the people shout -- a great shout, and the wall of the city hath fallen under it, and the people have gone up, each over-against him.'

And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'Rise for thee, why is this? -- thou art falling on thy face? Israel hath sinned, and also they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them, and also taken of the devoted thing, and also stolen, and also deceived, and also put it among their vessels, and the sons of Israel have not been able to stand before their enemies; the neck they turn before their enemies, for they have become a devoted thing; I add not to be with you -- if ye destroy not the devoted thing out of your midst. read more.
Rise, sanctify the people, and thou hast said, Sanctify yourselves for to-morrow; for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, A devoted thing is in thy midst, O Israel, thou art not able to stand before thine enemies till your turning aside of the devoted thing out of your midst; and ye have been brought near in the morning by your tribes, and it hath been, the tribe which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by families, and the family which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by households, and the household which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by men; and it hath been, he who is captured with the devoted thing is burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath done folly in Israel.'

And Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying, 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Give for you cities of refuge, as I have spoken unto you by the hand of Moses, for the fleeing thither of a man-slayer smiting life inadvertently, without knowledge; and they have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer of blood. read more.
When one hath fled unto one of these cities, and hath stood at the opening of the gate of the city, and hath spoken in the ears of the elders of that city his matter, then they have gathered him into the city unto them, and have given to him a place, and he hath dwelt with them. 'And when the redeemer of blood doth pursue after him, then they do not shut up the man-slayer into his hand, for without knowledge he hath smitten his neighbour, and is not hating him hitherto; and he hath dwelt in that city till his standing before the company for judgment, till the death of the chief priest who is in those days -- then doth the man-slayer turn back and hath come unto his city, and unto his house, unto the city whence he fled.'


Then Moses separateth three cities beyond the Jordan, towards the sun-rising, for the fleeing thither of the man-slayer, who slayeth his neighbour unknowingly, and he is not hating him heretofore, and he hath fled unto one of these cities, and he hath lived: Bezer, in the wilderness, in the land of the plain, of the Reubenite; and Ramoth, in Gilead, of the Gadite; and Golan, in Bashan, of the Manassahite.

And Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying, 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Give for you cities of refuge, as I have spoken unto you by the hand of Moses, for the fleeing thither of a man-slayer smiting life inadvertently, without knowledge; and they have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer of blood. read more.
When one hath fled unto one of these cities, and hath stood at the opening of the gate of the city, and hath spoken in the ears of the elders of that city his matter, then they have gathered him into the city unto them, and have given to him a place, and he hath dwelt with them. 'And when the redeemer of blood doth pursue after him, then they do not shut up the man-slayer into his hand, for without knowledge he hath smitten his neighbour, and is not hating him hitherto; and he hath dwelt in that city till his standing before the company for judgment, till the death of the chief priest who is in those days -- then doth the man-slayer turn back and hath come unto his city, and unto his house, unto the city whence he fled.'

as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee. 'And when a man doth presume against his neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die.

and have prepared to yourselves cities -- cities of refuge they are to you -- then fled thither hath a man-slayer, smiting a person unawares, and the cities have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer, and the man-slayer doth not die till his standing before the company for judgment. As to the cities which ye give -- six are cities of refuge to you; read more.
the three of the cities ye give beyond the Jordan, and the three of the cities ye give in the land of Canaan; cities of refuge they are. To sons of Israel, and to a sojourner, and to a settler in their midst, are these six cities for a refuge, for the fleeing thither of any one smiting a person unawares. And if with an instrument of iron he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he is a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death. And if with a stone in the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he is a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death. Or with a wooden instrument in the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he is a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death. 'The redeemer of blood himself doth put the murderer to death; in his coming against him he doth put him to death. And if in hatred he thrust him through, or hath cast anything at him by lying in wait, and he dieth; or in enmity he hath smitten him with his hand, and he dieth; the smiter is certainly put to death; he is a murderer; the redeemer of blood doth put the murderer to death in his coming against him. 'And if, in an instant, without enmity, he hath thrust him through, or hath cast at him any instrument, without lying in wait; or with any stone wherewith he dieth, without seeing, and causeth it to fall upon him, and he dieth, and he is not his enemy, nor seeking his evil; then have the company judged between the smiter and the redeemer of blood, by these judgments. 'And the company have delivered the man-slayer out of the hand of the redeemer of blood, and the company have caused him to turn back unto the city of his refuge, whither he hath fled, and he hath dwelt in it till the death of the chief priest, who hath been anointed with the holy oil. And if the man-slayer at all go out from the border of the city of his refuge whither he fleeth, and the redeemer of blood hath found him at the outside of the border of the city of his refuge, and the redeemer of blood hath slain the man-slayer, blood is not for him; for in the city of his refuge he doth dwell till the death of the chief priest; and after the death of the chief priest doth the man-slayer turn back unto the city of his possession. 'And these things have been to you for a statute of judgment to your generations, in all your dwellings: whoso smiteth a person, by the mouth of witnesses doth one slay the murderer; and one witness doth not testify against a person -- to die. And ye take no atonement for the life of a murderer who is condemned -- to die, for he is certainly put to death; and ye take no atonement for him to flee unto the city of his refuge, to turn back to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

three cities thou dost separate for thee in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it. Thou dost prepare for thee the way, and hast divided into three parts the border of thy land which Jehovah thy God doth cause thee to inherit, and it hath been for the fleeing thither of every man-slayer. And this is the matter of the man-slayer who fleeth thither, and hath lived: He who smiteth his neighbour unknowingly, and is not hating him heretofore, read more.
even he who cometh in with his neighbour into a forest to hew wood, and his hand hath driven with an axe to cut the tree, and the iron hath slipped from the wood, and hath met his neighbour, and he hath died -- he doth flee unto one of these cities, and hath lived, lest the redeemer of blood pursue after the man-slayer when his heart is hot, and hath overtaken him (because the way is great), and hath smitten him -- the life, and he hath no sentence of death, for he is not hating him heretofore; therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Three cities thou dost separate to thee. And if Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath sworn to thy fathers, and hath given to thee all the land which He hath spoken to give to thy fathers -- when thou keepest all this command to do it, which I am commanding thee to-day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk in His ways all the days -- then thou hast added to thee yet three cities to these three; and innocent blood is not shed in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance, and there hath been upon thee blood. And when a man is hating his neighbour, and hath lain in wait for him, and risen against him, and smitten him -- the life, and he hath died, and he hath fled unto one of these cities, then the elders of his city have sent and taken him from thence, and given him into the hand of the redeemer of blood, and he hath died; thine eye hath no pity on him, and thou hast put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with thee.