Numbers 35:6–15

⁶“The cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^uthe six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^vforty-eight, with their pasturelands. ⁸And as for the cities that you shall give ^wfrom the possession of the people of Israel, ^xfrom the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^yWhen you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ^11zthen you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. ¹²The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. ¹³And the cities that you give shall be your ^asix cities of refuge. ^14bYou shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and ^cfor the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.