Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.
Parallel translations
- WEB “The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.
- KJV And 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.
- NKJV “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities.
- NASB The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall provide for the one who commits manslaughter to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.
- NLT “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.
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
Six of the Levites' cities are to be cities of refuge for the manslayer, with forty-two others besides. The Levitical cities include places of asylum for those who kill unintentionally.
Overview
Joining the cities of refuge to the Levitical cities placed administration of justice and mercy in the hands of those who taught God's law. The cities of refuge protected the unintentional killer from premature vengeance until a fair hearing. This provision reveals God's concern for justice tempered by mercy, a foreshadowing of the refuge sinners find in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Josh 21:3So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
- Josh 21:13So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,
- Josh 21:36From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz,
- Josh 21:32And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Josh 21:21they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,
- Josh 21:38And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,
- Ps 9:9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
- Josh 21:27This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Matt 11:28Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Deut 4:41–43Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east
- Josh 20:2–9“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,
- Isa 4:6a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and the rain.
- Heb 6:18Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Ps 142:4–5Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.
- Ps 62:7–8My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
- Num 35:13–14The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge.
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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 35:6 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.