7 give the Levites a total of forty-eight cities and their pastures.
8 The larger tribes of Israel must give more cities, and the smaller tribes must give fewer cities. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the Levites, but the number of cities they give will depend on the size of their land.”
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.