Numbers 35:6–15

⁶“The towns that you give to the Levites shall include the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit a slayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two towns.^{* 7}The towns that you give to the Levites shall total forty-eight, with their pasturelands. ⁸And as for the towns that you shall give from the possession of the Israelites, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it obtains, shall give of its towns to the Levites.”^*

Cities of Refuge

⁹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, so that a slayer who kills a person without intent may flee there.^{* 12}The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, so that the slayer may not die until there is a trial before the congregation.^*

¹³“The cities that you designate shall be six cities of refuge for you: ¹⁴you shall designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there.^*