26 “ ‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, 28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29 “ ‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30 “ ‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.
31 “ ‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall surely be put to death.
32 “ ‘You shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.
33 “ ‘So you shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell amongst the children of Israel.’ ”
36
1 The heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel. 2 They said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. My lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 If they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4 When the jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5 Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the LORD’s word, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph speak what is right. 6 This is the thing which the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them be married to whom they think best, only they shall marry into the family of the tribe of their father. 7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel move from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall all keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 So shall no inheritance move from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall each keep his own inheritance.’ ”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses: 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons. 12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. Their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which the LORD commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
† 1:1: When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name (Hebrew “יהוה”, usually pronounced Yahweh).
‡ 1:16: or, chiefs, or, leaders
† 3:12: “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
‡ 3:34: + 22,000 is the sum rounded to 2 significant digits. The sum of the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites given above is 22,300, but the traditional Hebrew text has the number rounded to 2 significant digits, not 3 significant digits.
§ 3:47: A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
† 3:47: A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.
‡ 3:50: A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 1365 shekels is about 13.65 kilograms or about 30 pounds.
† 5:15: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
‡ 5:28: or, seed
† 6:7: The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
† 7:13: A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
† 11:3: Taberah means “burning”
‡ 11:7: Bdellium is a resin extracted from certain African trees.
§ 11:31: A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimetres.
† 11:32: 1 homer is about 220 litres or 6 bushels
‡ 11:34: Kibroth Hattaavah means “graves of lust”
† 13:33: or, giants
‡ 13:33: or, giants
† 14:17: The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
† 15:4: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
‡ 15:4: A hin is about 6.5 litres or 1.7 gallons.
§ 15:6: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
† 15:9: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
‡ 15:38: or, tassels (Hebrew צִיצִ֛ת)
§ 15:38: or, tassel
† 15:39: or, tassel
† 16:30: Sheol is the place of the dead.
‡ 16:33: Sheol is the place of the dead.
† 18:16: A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
‡ 18:16: A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.
† 20:13: “Meribah” means “quarrelling”.
† 21:3: “Hormah” means “destruction”.
† 28:5: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
‡ 28:5: A hin is about 6.5 litres or 1.7 gallons.
§ 28:7: One hin is about 6.5 litres, so 1/4 hin is about 1.6 litres or 1.7 quarts.
† 28:9: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
‡ 28:12: 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
† 31:52: A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 16,750 shekels is about 167.5 kilograms or about 368.5 pounds.
† 35:4: A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimetres.
Deuteronomy
The Fifth Book of Moses, Commonly Called Deuteronomy
1
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD† had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying, 6 “The LORD our God‡ spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South, by the seashore, in the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 Behold,§ I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their offspring† after them.’ ”
9 I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone. 10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude. 11 May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 12 How can I myself alone bear your problems, your burdens, and your strife? 13 Take wise men of understanding who are respected amongst your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”
14 You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.” 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes. 16 I commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother,
