书20:1 耶和华对约书亚说：
书20:1 And the Lord said to Joshua,
书20:2 “你要告诉以色列人：‘你们要照着我借着摩西命令你们的，为自己设立避难城，
书20:2 Say to the children of Israel, Let certain towns be marked out as safe places, as I said to you by the mouth of Moses,
书20:3 好使那出于错误、并非蓄意杀人的，可以逃到那里去；这些城要成为你们逃避报血仇的人的避难所。
书20:3 So that any man who in error and without design has taken the life of another, may go in flight to them: and they will be safe places for you from him who has the right of punishment for blood.
书20:4 那杀人的要逃到这些城中的一座，站在城门口，把自己的事情向城中的众长老述说，长老就要把他接入城中，到他们那里，并要给他地方，使他可以住在他们中间。
书20:4 And if anyone goes in flight to one of those towns, and comes into the public place of the town, and puts his cause before the responsible men of the town, they will take him into the town and give him a place among them where he may be safe.
书20:5 如果报血仇的人追赶他，长老不可把他交在报血仇的人手里，因为他并非蓄意杀人，他以前与他并没有仇恨。
书20:5 And if the one who has the right of punishment comes after him, they are not to give the taker of life up to him; because he was the cause of his neighbour's death without designing it and not in hate.
书20:6 那杀人的要住在那城里，直到他站在会众面前受审；等到当时的大祭司死了，才可以回到本城本家，回到他逃出来的城那里。’”
书20:6 And he is to go on living in that town till he has to come before the meeting of the people to be judged; (till the death of him who is high priest at that time:) then the taker of life may come back to his town and to his house, to the town from which he had gone in flight.
书20:7 于是以色列人在拿弗他利山地，把加利利的基低斯分别出来；在以法莲山地，把示剑分别出来；在犹大山地，把基列．亚巴分别出来，基列．亚巴就是希伯仑；
书20:7 So they made selection of Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (which is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah.
书20:8 又在约旦河东，耶利哥的东面，从流本支派中，指定在旷野平原上的比悉；从迦得支派中，指定在基列的拉末；从玛拿西支派中，指定在巴珊的哥兰。
书20:8 And on the east side of Jordan at Jericho, they made selection of Bezer in the waste land, in the table-land, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
书20:9 这些都是为所有的以色列人，和在他们中间寄居的外族人所指定的城，让误杀人的可以逃到那里，不致死在报血仇的人手里，直到他站在会众面前受审为止。
书20:9 These were the towns marked out for all the children of Israel and for the man from a strange country living among them, so that anyone causing the death of another in error, might go in flight there, and not be put to death by him who has the right of punishment for blood till he had come before the meeting of the people.