1 And Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
2 “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through the hand of Moses.
3 Anyone who kills a person by accident or unintentionally may flee there; they will be for yourselves a refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 The killer will flee to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and state his case to the elders of that city; and they will take him into the city and give him a place, and he will dwell among them.
5 And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, they will not hand over the killer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, and he did not hate him previously.