9. Then the Lord said to Moses,
10. “Tell the Israelites these things: ‘When you cross the Jordan River and go into Canaan,
11. you must choose cities to be cities of safety, so that a person who accidentally kills someone may run to them for safety.
12. There the person will be safe from the dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing the killer. He will not die before he receives a fair trial in court.
13. The six cities you give will be cities of safety.
14. Give three cities east of the Jordan River and three cities in Canaan as cities of safety.
15. These six cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel, as well as for foreigners and other people living with you. Any of these people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of these cities.
16. “ ‘Anyone who uses an iron weapon to kill someone is a murderer. He must be put to death.
17. Anyone who takes a rock and kills a person with it is a murderer. He must be put to death.
18. Anyone who picks up a piece of wood and kills someone with it is a murderer. He must be put to death.
19. A relative of the dead person must put the murderer to death; when they meet, the relative must kill the murderer.
20. A person might shove someone or throw something at someone and cause death.
21. Or a person might hit someone with his hand and cause death. If it were done from hate, the person is a murderer and must be put to death. A relative of the dead person must kill the murderer when they meet.
22. “ ‘But a person might suddenly shove someone, and not from hatred. Or a person might accidentally throw something and hit someone.