Numbers 35:20-31
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 35
20Now if he pushed him in hatred, or he threw something at him with malicious intent, and as a result he died, 21or if he struck him with his hand with hostility, and as a result he died, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22‘But if he pushed him suddenly, without hostility, or threw any object at him without malicious intent,
23or had any deadly stone, and without looking he dropped it on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor was he seeking to harm him,
24then the congregation shall judge between the one who fatally struck the victim and the blood avenger in accordance with these ordinances.
25And the congregation shall save the one who committed manslaughter from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall return him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
26But if at any time he goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he flees,
27and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills him, he will not be guilty of bloodshed,
28because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the one who committed manslaughter may return to the land of his property.
King James Version
Chapter 35
20But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. 22But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, 23Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: 25And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. 26But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; 27And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: 28Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. 29So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. 31Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 35
20Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, 21or 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.
22"But if anyone suddenly pushes a person without hostility or throws any object at him without malicious intent
23or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and didn't intend to harm him,
24the assembly is to judge between the person who kills someone and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
25The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from 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.
26"If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to,
27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed,
28for 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.
29These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
New Living Translation
Chapter 35
20So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder. 21Or 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.
22But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person,
23or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies.
24If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative:
25The 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.
26But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge,
27and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder.
28The 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.
29These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.
30All 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.
31Also, 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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 35
20And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, 21or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22“But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait
23or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,
24then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
25And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
26But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled,
27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.
28For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
29And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
New International Version
Chapter 35
20If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally so that they die 21or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death; that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when they meet.
22'But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally
23or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended,
24the assembly must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to these regulations.
25The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
26'But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled
27and the avenger of blood finds them outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder.
28The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.
New King James Version
Chapter 35
20If he pushes him out of hatred or, while lying in wait, hurls something at him so that he dies, 21or in enmity he strikes him with his hand so that he dies, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22‘However, if he pushes him suddenly without enmity, or throws anything at him without lying in wait,
23or uses a stone, by which a man could die, throwing it at him without seeing him, so that he dies, while he was not his enemy or seeking his harm,
24then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments.
25So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
26But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled,
27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,
28because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
29‘And these things shall be a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty.
31Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.
