New Living Translation (NLT)
Numbers 35
4 The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction.
5 Measure off 3,000 feet 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.”
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.
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