Joshua Chapter 20

2 and the border reached to Tabor, and Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh; and the goings out of their border were at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.

3 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

4 And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.

5 And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph,

6 and Allammelech, and Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath;

7 and it turned toward the sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah-el northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; and it went out to Cabul on the left hand,

8 and Ebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Sidon;

9 and the border turned to Ramah, and to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea by the region of Achzib;

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying,

2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint for yourselves the cities of refuge, whereof I spoke unto you through Moses,

3 that the slayer who unwittingly without intent smiteth any one mortally may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

4 And he shall flee unto one of those cities and stand at the entrance of the city-gate, and shall declare his matter in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; for he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not previously.

6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment, until the death of the high-priest that shall be in those days; then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

7 And they hallowed Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kirjath-Arba, that is, Hebron, in the hill-country of Judah.

8 And beyond the Jordan from Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness, in the plateau, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever smiteth any one mortally without intent might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the assembly.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign the cities of refuge, [of] which I spoke to you by Moses.

3 [Even] a refuge to the slayer who has smitten a man unintentionally; and the cities shall be to you a refuge, and the slayer shall not be put to death by the avenger of blood, until he have stood before the congregation for judgment.

7 And Joshua separated Cades in Galilee in the mount Nephthali, and Sychem in the mount Ephraim, and the city of Arboc; this is Chebron, in the mountain of Juda.

8 And beyond Jordan he appointed Bosor in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Ruben, and Aremoth in Galaad out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in the country of Basan out of the tribe of Manasse.

9 These [were] the cities selected for the sons of Israel, and for the stranger abiding among them, that every one who smites a soul unintentionally should flee thither, that he should not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he should stand before the congregation for judgment.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Et locutus est Dominus ad Iosue, dicens: Loquere filiis Israel, et dic eis:

2 Separate urbes fugitivorum, de quibus locutus sum ad vos per manum Moysi;

3 ut confugiat ad eas quicumque animam percusserit nescius: et possit evadere iram proximi, qui ultor est sanguinis:

4 cum ad unam harum confugerit civitatum, stabit ante portam civitatis, et loquetur senioribus urbis illius ea, quæ se comprobent innocentem: sicque suscipient eum, et dabunt ei locum ad habitandum.

5 Cumque ultor sanguinis eum fuerit persecutus, non tradent in manus eius: quia ignorans percussit proximum eius, nec ante biduum, triduumve eius probatur inimicus.

6 Et habitabit in civitate illa, donec stet ante iudicium causam reddens facti sui, et moriatur sacerdos magnus, qui fuerit in illo tempore: tunc revertetur homicida, et ingredietur civitatem et domum suam de qua fugerat.

7 Decreveruntque Cedes in Galilæa montis Nephthali, et Sichem in monte Ephraim, et Cariatharbe, ipsa est Hebron in monte Iuda.

8 Et trans Iordanem contra Orientalem plagam Iericho, statuerunt Bosor, quæ sita est in campestri solitudine de tribu Ruben, et Ramoth in Galaad de tribu Gad, et Gaulon in Basan de tribu Manasse.

9 Hæ civitates constitutæ sunt cunctis filiis Israel, et advenis, qui habitabant inter eos: ut fugeret ad eas qui animam nescius percussisset, et non moreretur in manu proximi, effusum sanguinem vindicare cupientis, donec staret ante populum expositurus causam suam.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 The LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,

3 that the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

4 He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.

5 If the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before.

6 He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’”

7 They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

8 Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying,

2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Give for you cities of refuge, as I have spoken unto you by the hand of Moses,

3 for the fleeing thither of a man-slayer smiting life inadvertently, without knowledge; and they have been to you for a refuge from the redeemer of blood.

4 `When <FI>one<Fi> hath fled unto one of these cities, and hath stood <FI>at<Fi> the opening of the gate of the city, and hath spoken in the ears of the elders of that city his matter, then they have gathered him into the city unto them, and have given to him a place, and he hath dwelt with them.

5 `And when the redeemer of blood doth pursue after him, then they do not shut up the man-slayer into his hand, for without knowledge he hath smitten his neighbour, and is not hating him hitherto;

6 and he hath dwelt in that city till his standing before the company for judgment, till the death of the chief priest who is in those days--then doth the man-slayer turn back and hath come unto his city, and unto his house, unto the city whence he fled.'

7 And they sanctify Kedesh in Galilee, in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kirjath-Arba (it <FI>is<Fi> Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah;

8 and beyond the Jordan, <FI>at<Fi> Jericho eastward, they have given Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These have been cities of meeting for all the sons of Israel, and for a sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, for the fleeing thither of any one smiting life inadvertently, and he doth not die by the hand of the redeemer of blood till his standing before the company.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).