3. That way, the Levites will have towns to live in and pastures for their animals.
6. Six of the towns you give them will be Safe Towns where a person who has accidentally killed someone can run for protection. But you will also give the Levites forty-two other towns,
7. so they will have a total of forty-eight towns with their surrounding pastures.
8. Since the towns for the Levites must come from Israel's own tribal lands, the larger tribes will give more towns than the smaller ones.
9. The Lord then told Moses
20-21. Or suppose you get angry and kill someone by pushing or hitting or by throwing something. You are a murderer and must be put to death by one of the victim's relatives.
22-24. But if you are not angry and accidentally kill someone in any of these ways, the townspeople must hold a trial and decide if you are guilty.
25. If they decide that you are innocent, you will be protected from the victim's relative and sent to stay in one of the Safe Towns until the high priest dies.
26. But if you ever leave the Safe Town
27. and are killed by the victim's relative, he cannot be punished for killing you.
28. You must stay inside the town until the high priest dies; only then can you go back home.
29. The community of Israel must always obey these laws.
30. Death is the penalty for murder. But no one accused of murder can be put to death unless there are at least two witnesses to the crime.
31. You cannot give someone money to escape the death penalty; you must pay with your own life!
32. And if you have been proved innocent of murder and are living in a Safe Town, you cannot pay to go back home; you must stay there until the high priest dies.