Joshua 20:3

so that anyone who will have struck down a life unintentionally may flee to them. And so, he may be able to escape from the wrath of a close relative, who is an avenger of blood.

Catholic Public Domain Version

In The King James Version

That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

In Context

2Separate the cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses,

4And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live.

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Cross References

Numbers 35:19The close relative of the deceased shall put to death the murderer; as soon as he apprehends him, he shall put him to death.

2 Samuel 14:11And she said, “Let the king remember the Lord his God, so that close blood relatives may not be multiplied in order to take revenge, and so that they may by no means kill my son.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair from your son shall fall to the ground.”

Matthew Henry on Joshua 20:2-7

The Cities of Refuge. ( b. c. 1444.) 1 The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: 3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that… Read the whole commentary →

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