Numbers 35:19

35:19 The avenger¹ of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.

Numbers 35:25-27

35:25 The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there² until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil. 35:26 But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled, 35:27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,

Deuteronomy 19:6

19:6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him,³ and kill him,⁴ though this is not a capital case⁵ since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.

Joshua 20:3-6

20:3 Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there;⁶ these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood. 20:4 The one who committed manslaughter⁷ should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city.⁸ They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.⁹ 20:5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation.¹⁰ 20:6 He must remain¹¹ in that city until his case is decided by the assembly¹² and the high priest dies.¹³ Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.”¹⁴

Joshua 20:9

20:9 These were the cities of refuge¹⁵ appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by¹⁶ the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly.¹⁷

Joshua 20:2

20:2 “Have the Israelites select¹⁸ the cities of refuge¹⁹ that I told you about through Moses.

Joshua 14:7

14:7 I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report.²⁰

¹tn The participle גֹּאֵל (go’el) is the one who protects the family by seeking vengeance for a crime. This is the same verb used for levirate marriages and other related customs.

²tn Heb “in it.”

³tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”

⁴tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.

⁵tn Heb “no judgment of death.”

⁶tn Heb “so that the one who kills, taking life accidentally without knowledge, may flee there.”

⁷tn Heb “he”; the referent (the one who accidentally kills another, cf. v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸tn Heb “and speak into the ears of the elders of that city his words.”

⁹tn Heb “and they should gather him into the city to themselves, give to him a place, and he will live with them.”

¹⁰tn Heb “for without knowledge he killed his neighbor, and he was not hating him prior to that.”

¹¹tn Or “live.”

¹²tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly for judgment.”

¹³tn Heb “until the death of the high priest who is in those days.”

¹⁴tn Heb “may return and enter his city and his house, the city from which he escaped.”

¹⁵tn The Hebrew text reads simply “the cities.” The words “for refuge” are supplied for clarification.

¹⁶tn Heb “and not die by the hand of.”

¹⁷tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly.” The words “at least” are supplied for clarification.

¹⁸tn Heb “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘Set aside for yourselves.’”

¹⁹tn Or “asylum.”

²⁰tn Heb “and I brought back to him a word just as [was] in my heart.”