Joshua 20:5-7
Amplified Bible
5 If the blood avenger pursues him, they shall not hand the offender (manslayer) over to him, because he killed his neighbor [a]unintentionally and without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. 6 He shall live in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment [and [b]if acquitted of murder he must stay there], until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then the offender (manslayer) shall return to his own city and his own house from which he fled.’”
7 So they set apart and consecrated Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 20:5 Lit without knowledge.
- Joshua 20:6 If judged guilty, the killer would be put to death. Otherwise, the time he was required to spend in the city of refuge represented a less severe punishment for involuntary manslaughter. Afterward, he was entitled to return home and live in safety. If the blood avenger killed him then, the avenger would be guilty of murder.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
