Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
Parallel translations
- WEB then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
- BSB designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.
- NKJV then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there.
- NASB then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, so that the one who commits manslaughter by killing a person unintentionally may flee there.
- NLT designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel is to appoint cities of refuge where one who kills a person unintentionally may flee. These cities provide asylum for accidental killing.
Overview
The cities of refuge distinguished between deliberate murder and unintentional manslaughter, protecting the latter from immediate retribution. This careful distinction reflects the justice of God, who weighs intent in judging the taking of life. The refuge granted to the innocent points to the safety found in Christ, our refuge from judgment (Hebrews 6:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 21:13And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
- Num 35:6And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
- Josh 20:2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
- Num 35:22–25But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,
- Deut 4:42That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
- Deut 19:1–13When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 35:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.