Hæc quoque locutus est Dominus ad Moysen in campestribus Moab supra Jordanem, contra Jericho:

This was another message the Lord gave to Moses on the eastern bank of Jordan opposite Jericho;

And the Lord spoke these things also to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, over against Jericho:

Præcipe filiis Israël ut dent Levitis de possessionibus suis

he was to bid the Israelites make provision for the Levites out of these lands of theirs.

Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites out of their possessions,

urbes ad habitandum, et suburbana earum per circuitum: ut ipsi in oppidis maneant, et suburbana sint pecoribus ac jumentis:

The Levites were to have cities with precincts about them; cities for the Levites themselves to live in, and precincts for their flocks and cattle,

Cities to dwell in, and their suburbs round about: that they may abide in the towns, and the suburbs may be for their cattle and beasts:

quæ a muris civitatum forinsecus, per circuitum, mille passuum spatio tendentur.

stretching a thousand yards beyond the city walls.

Which suburbs shall reach from the walls of the cities outward, a thousand paces on every side:

Contra orientem duo millia erunt cubiti, et contra meridiem similiter erunt duo millia: ad mare quoque, quod respicit ad occidentem, eadem mensura erit, et septentrionalis plaga æquali termino finietur, eruntque urbes in medio, et foris suburbana.

Two thousand cubits to the east, as many to the south, as many towards the western sea, as many to the north; the city was to lie in the middle with precincts all round it.

Toward the east shall be two thousand cubits: and toward the south in like manner shall be two thousand cubits: toward the sea also, which looketh to the west, shall be the same extent: and the north side shall be bounded with the like limits. And the cities shall be in the midst, and the suburbs without.

De ipsis autem oppidis, quæ Levitis dabitis, sex erunt in fugitivorum auxilia separata, ut fugiat ad ea qui fuderit sanguinem: et exceptis his, alia quadraginta duo oppida,

Six of the towns granted to the Levites would be sanctuaries for the outlaw, offering a refuge to homicides, and there would be forty-two more,

And among the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for refuge to fugitives, that he who hath shed blood may flee to them: and besides these there shall be other forty-two cities,

id est, simul quadraginta octo cum suburbanis suis.

making forty-eight cities in all, with precincts attached to them.

That is, in all forty-eight with their suburbs.

Ipsæque urbes, quæ dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israël, ab his qui plus habent, plures auferentur: et qui minus, pauciores: singuli juxta mensuram hæreditatis suæ dabunt oppida Levitis.

All these cities were to be a toll levied from the lands of the Israelites, in greater number from those who held more, in less number from those who held less; they would make their grant to the Levites according to their several capacities.

And of these cities which shall be given out of the possessions of the children of Israel, from them that have more, more shall be taken: and from them that have less, fewer. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the extent of their inheritance.

Ait Dominus ad Moysen:

And the Lord spoke to Moses

The Lord said to Moses:

Loquere filiis Israël, et dices ad eos: Quando transgressi fueritis Jordanem in terram Chanaan,

giving him this message for the Israelites: When you have crossed Jordan and reached Chanaan,

Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have passed over the Jordan into the land of Chanaan,

decernite quæ urbes esse debeant in præsidia fugitivorum, qui nolentes sanguinem fuderint:

you must decide which of your cities are to be sanctuaries for men who have shed blood unwittingly.

Determine what cities shall be for the refuge of fugitives, who have shed blood against their will.

in quibus cum fuerit profugus, cognatus occisi non poterit eum occidere, donec stet in conspectu multitudinis, et causa illius judicetur.

Such a man, if he takes refuge there, will be beyond the reach of avenging clansmen, until such time as he can appear and have his cause decided by the people.

And when the fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain may not have power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude, and his cause be judged.

De ipsis autem urbibus, quæ ad fugitivorum subsidia separantur,

Of the cities appointed as sanctuaries,

And of those cities, that are separated for the refuge of fugitives,

tres erunt trans Jordanem, et tres in terra Chanaan,

three must lie beyond the Jordan, three in Chanaan itself;

Three shall be beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Chanaan,

tam filiis Israël quam advenis atque peregrinis, ut confugiat ad eas qui nolens sanguinem fuderit.

and they shall be open not only to Israelites but to the aliens that lodge or dwell among you, as a refuge for all who have shed blood unwittingly.

As well for the children of Israel as for strangers and sojourners, that he may flee to them, who hath shed blood against his will.

Si quis ferro percusserit, et mortuus fuerit qui percussus est, reus erit homicidii, et ipse morietur.

In such causes, anyone who struck a deadly blow with a weapon of iron must be reckoned a murderer, and put to death;

If any man strike with iron, and he die that was struck: he shall be guilty of murder, and he himself shall die.

Si lapidem jecerit, et ictus occubuerit, similiter punietur.

and the penalty is all the same if the deadly blow was struck with a stone,

If he throw a stone, and he that is struck die: he shall be punished in the same manner.

Si ligno percussus interierit, percussoris sanguine vindicabitur.

or with a piece of wood.

If he that is struck with wood die: he shall be revenged by the blood of him that struck him.

Propinquus occisi, homicidam interficiet: statim ut apprehenderit eum, interficiet.

Any kinsman of the dead man may strike the murderer down, strike him down without more ado as soon as he meets him.

The kinsman of him that was slain, shall kill the murderer: as soon as he apprehendeth him, he shall kill him.

Si per odium quis hominem impulerit, vel jecerit quippiam in eum per insidias:

Anyone, that is, who thrusts at a man out of malice, or lies in wait for him and discharges a weapon at him,

If through hatred any one push a man, or fling any thing at him with ill design:

aut cum esset inimicus, manu percusserit, et ille mortuus fuerit: percussor homicidii reus erit: cognatus occisi statim ut invenerit eum, jugulabit.

or makes a deadly assault on him because they are enemies, is a murderer, to be struck down by the kinsmen of the dead man as soon as they meet him.

Or being his enemy, strike him with his hand, and he die: the striker shall be guilty of murder: the kinsman of him that was slain as soon as he findeth him, shall kill him.

Quod si fortuitu, et absque odio

But if it was by chance, without any malice

But if by chance medley, and without hatred,

et inimicitiis quidquam horum fecerit,

or feud between them,

And enmity, he do any of these things,

et hoc audiente populo fuerit comprobatum, atque inter percussorem et propinquum sanguinis quæstio ventilata:

and this is proved in the hearing of the people, after due consideration of the pleas brought by the slayer and by the dead man’s kin,

And this be proved in the hearing of the people, and the cause be debated between him that struck, and the next of kin:

liberabitur innocens de ultoris manu, et reducetur per sententiam in urbem, ad quam confugerat, manebitque ibi, donec sacerdos magnus, qui oleo sancto unctus est, moriatur.

then he is innocent, and must be rescued from the avenger’s power. He must be taken back, by award of the court, to his city of refuge, and make his abode there until the death of the high priest then anointed.

The innocent shall be delivered from the hand of the revenger, and shall be brought back by sentence into the city, to which he had fled, and he shall abide there until the death of the high priest, that is anointed with the holy oil.

Si interfector extra fines urbium, quæ exulibus deputatæ sunt,

Once the slayer leaves the confines of the sanctuary town,

If the murderer be found without the limits of the cities that are appointed for the banished,

fuerit inventus, et percussus ab eo qui ultor est sanguinis: absque noxa erit qui eum occiderit.

anyone who has a feud against him may strike him down wherever he meets him, without incurring guilt;

And be struck by him that is the avenger of blood: he shall not be guilty that killed him.

Debuerat enim profugus usque ad mortem pontificis in urbe residere. Postquam autem ille obierit, homicida revertetur in terram suam.

he should have remained in his city of refuge until the high priest died. On the high priest’s death, the slayer is free to return home.

For the fugitive ought to have stayed in the city until the death of the high priest: and after he is dead, then shall the manslayer return to his own country.

Hæc sempiterna erunt, et legitima in cunctis habitationibus vestris.

These laws shall hold good among you everywhere and always.

These things shall be perpetual, and for an ordinance in all your dwellings.

Homicida sub testibus punietur: ad unius testimonium nullus condemnabitur.

Witnesses are needed before the murderer can be punished; the word of a single witness does not suffice for his condemnation.

The murderer shall be punished by witnesses: none shall be condemned upon the evidence of one man.

Non accipietis pretium ab eo qui reus est sanguinis, statim et ipse morietur.

You are not to accept blood-money from the murderer; he is to be put to death there and then.

You shall not take money of him that is guilty of blood, but he shall die forthwith.

Exules et profugi ante mortem pontificis nullo modo in urbes suas reverti poterunt,

Nor, upon any condition, must you allow the outlaw who has taken sanctuary to return home until the high priest’s death;

The banished and fugitives before the death of the high priest may by no means return into their own cities.

ne polluatis terram habitationis vestræ, quæ insontium cruore maculatur: nec aliter expiari potest, nisi per ejus sanguinem, qui alterius sanguinem fuderit.

this would bring pollution on the land that is yours. The blood of an innocent man involves the whole land in such guilt as can only be expiated by the murderer’s own blood;

Defile not the land of your habitation, which is stained with the blood of the innocent: neither can it otherwise be expiated, but by his blood that hath shed the blood of another.

Atque ita emundabitur vestra possessio me commorante vobiscum. Ego enim sum Dominus qui habito inter filios Israël.

and you must keep your territory clean of such defilement if I am to dwell among you; the Lord himself is the guest of Israel.

And thus shall your possession be cleansed, myself abiding with you. For I am the Lord that dwell among the children of Israel.