7. So you will give a total of 48 cities to the Levites. You will also give them the land around those cities.
8. The large tribes of Israel will get large pieces of land. The small tribes of Israel will get small pieces of land. So the large tribes will give more cities and the small tribes will give fewer cities to the Levites.”
9. Then the Lord said to Moses,
10. “Tell the people this: You will cross the Jordan River and go into the land of Canaan.
11. You must choose towns to be cities of safety. If someone accidentally kills another person, that person can run to one of those towns for safety.
12. That person will be safe from anyone from the dead man’s family who wants to punish the killer until that person is judged in court.
13. There will be six cities of safety.
14. Three of them will be east of the Jordan River and three of them will be in the land of Canaan, west of the Jordan River.
15. These cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel and for foreigners and travelers. Any of these people will be able to run to one of these cities if they accidentally kill someone.
16. “If you use an iron weapon to kill someone, you are a murderer, and you must die.
17. If you use a rock large enough to kill someone and you kill another person, you are a murderer, and you must die.
18. If you use a piece of wood large enough to kill someone and you kill another person, you are a murderer, and you must die.
19. A member of the dead person’s family can chase you and kill you.