Decisions That Shape Destiny

30 And Moshe spake unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Isra’el, saying, This is the thing which Yehovah hath commanded. ²When a man voweth a vow unto Yehovah, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. ³Also when a woman voweth a vow unto Yehovah, and bindeth herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in her youth, ⁴and her father heareth her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father holdeth his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. ⁵But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and Yehovah will forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 

⁶And if she be married to a husband, while her vows are upon her, or the rash utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul, ⁷and her husband hear it, and hold his peace at her in the day that he heareth it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. ⁸But if her husband disallow her in the day that he heareth it, then he shall make void her vow which is upon her, and the rash utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul: and Yehovah will forgive her. 

⁹But the vow of a widow, or of her that is divorced, even everything wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand against her. ¹⁰And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath, ¹¹and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. ¹²But if her husband made them null and void in the day that he heard them, then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and Yehovah will forgive her. 

¹³Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. ¹⁴But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he hath established them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. ¹⁵But if he shall make them null and void after that he hath heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity. ¹⁶These are the statutes, which Yehovah commanded Moshe, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father’s house. 

31 And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ²Avenge the children of Isra’el of the Midyanim: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. ³And Moshe spake unto the people, saying, Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midyan, to execute Yehovah’s vengeance on Midyan. ⁴Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Isra’el, shall ye send to the war. ⁵So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Isra’el, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶And Moshe sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Pinchas the son of El’azar the cohen, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. ⁷And they warred against Midyan, as Yehovah commanded Moshe; and they slew every male. ⁸And they slew the kings of Midyan with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Tzur, and Hur, and Reva, the five kings of Midyan: Bil’am also the son of B’or they slew with the sword. ⁹And the children of Isra’el took captive the women of Midyan and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey. ¹⁰And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire. ¹¹And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast. ¹²And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moshe, and unto El’azar the cohen, and unto the congregation of the children of Isra’el, unto the camp at the plains of Mo’av, which are by the Yarden at Yericho. 

¹³And Moshe, and El’azar the cohen, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. ¹⁴And Moshe was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war. ¹⁵And Moshe said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ¹⁶Behold, these caused the children of Isra’el, through the counsel of Bil’am, to commit trespass against Yehovah in the matter of P’or, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yehovah. ¹⁷Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. ¹⁸But all the women-children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. ¹⁹And encamp ye without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives. ²⁰And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify yourselves. 

²¹And El’azar the cohen said unto the men of war that went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Yehovah hath commanded Moshe: ²²howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water. ²⁴And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterward ye shall come into the camp. 

²⁵And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ²⁶Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and El’azar the cohen, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation; ²⁷and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation. ²⁸And levy a tribute unto Yehovah of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the flocks: ²⁹take it of their half, and give it unto El’azar the priest, for Yehovah’s heave-offering. ³⁰And of the children of Isra’el’s half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the Tabernacle of Yehovah. ³¹And Moshe and El’azar the cohen did as Yehovah commanded Moshe. 

³²Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, ³³and threescore and twelve thousand oxen, ³⁴and threescore and one thousand asses, ³⁵and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him. ³⁶And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep: ³⁷and Yehovah’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. ³⁸And the oxen were thirty and six thousand; of which Yehovah’s tribute was threescore and twelve. ³⁹And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which Yehovah’s tribute was threescore and one. ⁴⁰And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Yehovah’s tribute was thirty and two persons. ⁴¹And Moshe gave the tribute, which was Yehovah’s heave-offering, unto El’azar the priest, as Yehovah commanded Moshe. 

⁴²And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moshe divided off from the men that warred ⁴³(now the congregation’s half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred sheep, ⁴⁴and thirty and six thousand oxen, ⁴⁵and thirty thousand and five hundred asses, ⁴⁶and sixteen thousand persons), ⁴⁷even of the children of Israel’s half, Moshe took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, that kept the charge of the tabernacle of Yehovah; as Yehovah commanded Moshe. 

⁴⁸And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moshe; ⁴⁹and they said unto Moshe, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war that are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. ⁵⁰And we have brought Yehovah’s oblation, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle-chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and armlets, to make atonement for our souls before Yehovah. ⁵¹And Moshe and El’azar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. ⁵²And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered up to Yehovah, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. ⁵³(For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.) ⁵⁴And Moshe and El’azar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Isra’el before Yehovah. 

32 Now the children of Re’uven and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Ya’zer, and the land of Gil’ad, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; ²the children of Gad and the children of Re’uven came and spake unto Moshe, and to El’azar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, ^3′Atarot, and Divon, and Ya’zer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and El’ealeh, and S’bam, and N’bo, and Be’on, ⁴the land which Yehovah smote before the congregation of Isra’el, is a land for cattle; and thy servants have cattle. ⁵And they said, If we have found favor in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Yarden. 

⁶And Moshe said unto the children of Gad, and to the children of Re’uven, Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here? ⁷And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Isra’el from going over into the land which Yehovah hath given them? ⁸Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land. ⁹For when they went up unto the valley of Eshkol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Isra’el, that they should not go into the land which Yehovah had given them. ¹⁰And Yehovah’s anger was kindled in that day, and he sware, saying, ¹¹Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Avraham, unto Yitz’jak, and unto Ya’akov; because they have not wholly followed me: ¹²save Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi, and Y’hoshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed Yehovah. ¹³And Yehovah’s anger was kindled against Isra’el, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of Yehovah, was consumed. ¹⁴And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Yehovah toward Isra’el. ¹⁵For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye will destroy all this people. 

¹⁶And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: ¹⁷but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Isra’el, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Isra’el have inherited every man his inheritance. ¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Yarden, and forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Yarden eastward. 

²⁰And Moshe said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will arm yourselves to go before Yehovah to the war, ²¹and every armed man of you will pass over the Yarden before Yehovah, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, ²²and the land is subdued before Yehovah; then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless towards Yehovah, and towards Isra’el; and this land shall be unto you for a possession before Yehovah. ²³But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Yehovah; and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. ²⁵And the children of Gad and the children of Re’uven spake unto Moshe, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gil’ad; ²⁷but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before Yehovah to battle, as my lord saith. 

²⁸So Moshe gave charge concerning them to El’azar the priest, and to Y’hoshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Isra’el. ²⁹And Moshe said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Re’uven will pass with you over the Yarden, every man that is armed to battle, before Yehovah, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gil’ad for a possession: ³⁰but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Kena’an. ³¹And the children of Gad and the children of Re’uven answered, saying, As Yehovah hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. ³²We will pass over armed before Yehovah into the land of Kana’an, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Yarden. 

³³And Moshe gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Re’uven, and unto the half-tribe of M’nasheh the son of Yosef, the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori, and the kingdom of ‘Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities thereof with their borders, even the cities of the land round about. ³⁴And the children of Gad built Divon, and ‘Atarot, and ‘Aro’er, ³⁵and ‘Atrot-Shofan, and Ya’zer, and Yogbehah, ³⁶and Beit-Nimrah, and Beit-Haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep. ³⁷And the children of Re’uven built Heshbon, and El’aleh, and Kiryatayim, ³⁸and N’vo, and Ba’al-M’on, (their names being changed,) and Sivmah: and they gave other names unto the cities which they builded. ³⁹And the children of Machir the son of M’nasheh went to Gil’ad, and took it, and dispossessed the Emori that were therein. ⁴⁰And Moshe gave Gil’ad unto Machir the son of M’nasheh; and he dwelt therein. ⁴¹And Ya’ir the son of M’nasheh went and took the towns thereof, and called them Havot-Ya’ir. ⁴²And Novach went and took K’nat, and the villages thereof, and called it Novach, after his own name. 

33 These are the journeys of the children of Isra’el, when they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the hand of Moshe and Aharon. ²And Moshe wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of Yehovah: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. ³And they journeyed from Ram’ses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Isra’el went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians, ⁴while the Egyptians were burying all their first-born, whom Yehovah had smitten among them: upon their gods also Yehovah executed judgments. 

⁵And the children of Isra’el journeyed from Ram’ses, and encamped in Sukkot. ⁶And they journeyed from Sukkot, and encamped in Etam, which is in the edge of the wilderness. ⁷And they journeyed from Etam, and turned back unto Pi-Hachirot, which is before Ba’al-Tz’fon: and they encamped before Migdol. ⁸And they journeyed from before P’nei-Hachirot, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness: and they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etam, and encamped in Marah. ⁹And they journeyed from Marah, and came unto Eilim: and in Eilim were twelve springs of water, and threescore and ten palm-trees; and they encamped there. ¹⁰And they journeyed from Eilim, and encamped by the Sea of Suf. ¹¹And they journeyed from the Sea of Suf and encamped in the wilderness of Seen. ¹²And they journeyed from the wilderness of Seen, and encamped in Dofkah. ¹³And they journeyed from Dofkah, and encamped in Alush. ¹⁴And they journeyed from Alush, and encamped in Refidim, where was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵And they journeyed from Refidim, and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in Kivrot-haTa’avah. ¹⁷And they journeyed from Kivrot-HaTa’avah, and encamped in Hatzerot. ¹⁸And they journeyed from Hatzerot, and encamped in Ritmah. ¹⁹And they journeyed from Ritmah, and encamped in Rimmon-Pertez. ²⁰And they journeyed from Rimmon-Pertez, and encamped in Livnah. ²¹And they journeyed from Livnah, and encamped in Rissah. ²²And they journeyed from Rissah, and encamped in K’helah. ²³And they journeyed from K’helah, and encamped in mount Shefer. ²⁴And they journeyed from mount Shefer, and encamped in Haradah. ²⁵And they journeyed from Haradah, and encamped in Mak’helot. ²⁶And they journeyed from Mak’helot, and encamped in Tachat. ²⁷And they journeyed from Tachat, and encamped in Terach. ²⁸And they journeyed from Terach, and encamped in Mitkah. ²⁹And they journeyed from Mitkah, and encamped in HaShmonah. ³⁰And they journeyed from HaShmonah, and encamped in Moserot. ³¹And they journeyed from Moserot, and encamped in B’nei-Ya’akan. ³²And they journeyed from B’nei-Ya’akan, and encamped in Hor-HaGidgad. ³³And they journeyed from Hor-HaGidgad, and encamped in Yotvatah. ³⁴And they journeyed from Yotvatah, and encamped in Avronah. ³⁵And they journeyed from Avronah, and encamped in ‘Etzyon-Gever. ³⁶And they journeyed from ‘Etzyon-Geber, and encamped in the wilderness of Tzin (the same is Kadesh). ³⁷And they journeyed from Kadesh, and encamped in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. 

³⁸And Aharon the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of Yehovah, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Isra’el were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. ³⁹And Aharon was a hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. 

⁴⁰And the Kena’ani, the king of ‘Arad, who dwelt in the South in the land of Kena’an, heard of the coming of the children of Isra’el. 

⁴¹And they journeyed from mount Hor, and encamped in Tzalmonah. ⁴²And they journeyed from Tzalmonah, and encamped in Punon. ⁴³And they journeyed from Punon, and encamped in Ovot. ⁴⁴And they journeyed from Ovot, and encamped in ‘Iyei-Ha’Avarim, in the border of Mo’av. ⁴⁵And they journeyed from ‘Iyim, and encamped in Divon-Gad. ⁴⁶And they journeyed from Divon-Gad, and encamped in ‘Almon-Divlathayim. ⁴⁷And they journeyed from ‘Almon-Divlathayim, and encamped in the mountains of ‘Avarim, before N’vo. ⁴⁸And they journeyed from the mountains of ‘Avarim, and encamped in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden at Yericho. ⁴⁹And they encamped by the Yarden, from Beit-HaYeshimot even unto Avel-HaSheetim in the plains of Mo’av. 

⁵⁰And Yehovah spake unto Moshe in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden at Yericho, saying, ⁵¹Speak unto the children of Isra’el, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Yarden into the land of Kena’an, ⁵²then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places: ⁵³and ye shall take possession of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it. ⁵⁴And ye shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance: wheresoever the lot falleth to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit. ⁵⁵But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as pricks in your eyes, and as thorns in your sides, and they shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. ⁵⁶And it shall come to pass, that, as I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you. 

34 And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ²Command the children of Isra’el, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Kena’an (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Kena’an according to the borders thereof), ³then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Tzin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Dead Sea eastward; ⁴and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of ‘Akrabbim, and pass along to Tzin; and the goings out thereof shall be southward of Kadesh-Barnea; and it shall go forth to Hatzar-Adar, and pass along to ‘Atzmon; ⁵and the border shall turn about from ‘Atzmon unto the Vadi of Egypt, and the goings out thereof shall be at the sea. 

⁶And for the western border, ye shall have the Great Sea and the border thereof: this shall be your west border. 

⁷And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall mark out for you mount Hor; ⁸from mount Hor ye shall mark out unto the entrance of Hamat; and the goings out of the border shall be at Tz’dad; ⁹and the border shall go forth to Zifron, and the goings out thereof shall be at Hatzar-‘Einan: this shall be your north border. 

¹⁰And ye shall mark out your east border from Hatzar-Einan to Sh’fam; ¹¹and the border shall go down from Sh’fam to Rivlah, on the east side of ‘Ayin; and the border shall go down, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Kinneret eastward; ¹²and the border shall go down to the Yarden, and the goings out thereof shall be at the Dead Sea. This shall be your land according to the borders thereof round about. 

¹³And Moshe commanded the children of Isra’el, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which Jehovah hath commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe; ¹⁴for the tribe of the children of Re’uven according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have received, their inheritance: ¹⁵the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Yarden at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. 

¹⁶And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ¹⁷These are the names of the men that shall divide the land unto you for inheritance: El’azar the cohen, and Y’hoshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance. ¹⁹And these are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Y’hudah, Kalev the son of Y’funeh. ²⁰And of the tribe of the children of Shim’on, Sh’mu’el the son of ‘Ammihud. ²¹Of the tribe of Binyamin, Elidad the son of Kislon. ²²And of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Buki the son of Yogli. ²³Of the children of Yosef: of the tribe of the children of M’nasheh a prince, Hani’el the son of Efod. ²⁴And of the tribe of the children of Efrayim a prince, K’mu’el the son of Shiftan. ²⁵And of the tribe of the children of Z’vulun a prince, Elitzafan the son of Parnakh. ²⁶And of the tribe of the children of Yissakhar a prince, Palti’el the son of ‘Azan. ²⁷And of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Achihud the son of Shlomi. ²⁸And of the tribe of the children of Naftali a prince, P’dah’el the son of ‘Ammihud. ²⁹These are they whom Yehovah commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Isra’el in the land of Kena’an. 

35 And Yehovah spake unto Moshe in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden at Yericho, saying, ²Command the children of Isra’el, that they give unto the L’vi’im of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and suburbs for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the L’vi’im. ³And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts. ⁴And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the L’vi’im, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. ⁵And ye shall measure without the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. ⁶And the cities which ye shall give unto the L’vi’im, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee unto: and besides them ye shall give forty and two cities. ⁷All the cities which ye shall give to the L’vi’im shall be forty and eight cities; them shall ye give with their suburbs. ⁸And concerning the cities which ye shall give of the possession of the children of Isra’el, from the many ye shall take many; and from the few ye shall take few: every one according to his inheritance which he inheriteth shall give of his cities unto the L’vi’im. 

⁹And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ¹⁰Speak unto the children of Isra’el, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Kena’an, ¹¹then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer that killeth any person unwittingly may flee thither. ¹²And the cities shall be unto you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation for judgment. ¹³And the cities which ye shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. ¹⁴Ye shall give three cities beyond the Yarden, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Kena’an; they shall be cities of refuge. ¹⁵For the children of Isra’el, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that every one that killeth any person unwittingly may flee thither. 

¹⁶But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁷And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁹The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death: when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰And if he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹or in enmity smote him with his hand, so that he died; he that smote him shall surely be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him. 

²²But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him anything without lying in wait, ²³or with any stone, whereby a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm; ²⁴then the congregation shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances; ²⁵and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall dwell therein 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 border of his city of refuge, whither he fleeth, ²⁷and the avenger of blood find him without the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slay 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 shall return into the land of his possession. 

²⁹And these things shall be for a statute and ordinance unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³⁰Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die. ³¹Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death. ³²And ye shall take no ransom for him that is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. ³³So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. ³⁴And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Yehovah, dwell in the midst of the children of Isra’el. 

36 And the heads of the fathers’ houses of the family of the children of Gil’ad, the son of Machir, the son of M’nasheh, of the families of the sons of Yosef, came near, and spake before Moshe, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the children of Isra’el: ²and they said, Yehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Isra’el: and my lord was commanded by Yehovah to give the inheritance of Tz’lof’chad our brother unto his daughters. ³And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Isra’el, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. ⁴And when the jubilee of the children of Isra’el shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. 

⁵And Moshe commanded the children of Isra’el according to the word of Yehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Yosef speaketh right. ⁶This is the thing which Yehovah doth command concerning the daughters of Tz’lof’chad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married. ⁷So shall no inheritance of the children of Isra’el remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Isra’el shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Isra’el, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Isra’el may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Isra’el shall cleave every one to his own inheritance. 

¹⁰Even as Yehovah commanded Moshe, so did the daughters of Tz’lof’chad: ¹¹for Machlah, Tirtzah, and Hoglah, and Milkah, and No’ah, the daughters of Tz’lof’chad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons. ¹²They were married into the families of the sons of M’nasheh the son of Yosef; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. 

¹³These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yehovah commanded by Moshe unto the children of Isra’el in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden at Yericho.