וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר

The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר תְּנוּ לָכֶם אֶת עָרֵי הַמִּקְלָט אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה

Speak to the children of Israel, saying: Provide for yourselves the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you at the hand of Moses;

לָנוּס שָׁמָּה רוֹצֵחַ מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה בִּבְלִי דָעַת וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְמִקְלָט מִגֹּאֵל הַדָּם

these cities of refuge are the places where a murderer who takes a life unwittingly, without intention, may flee, and they, these cities, shall be a refuge for you from the blood redeemer, who is typically a relative of the victim, seeking revenge for his death.

וְנָס אֶל אַחַת מֵהֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְעָמַד פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הָעִיר וְדִבֶּר בְּאָזְנֵי זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִיא אֶת דְּבָרָיו וְאָסְפוּ אֹתוֹ הָעִירָה אֲלֵיהֶם וְנָתְנוּ לוֹ מָקוֹם וְיָשַׁב עִמָּם

The chapter provides details of this process that do not appear in the Torah: He, the unwitting murderer, shall flee to one of those cities, stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and state his case into the ears of the elders of that city; he informs them of what he has done and requests refuge. They shall gather him to them into the city, and provide him a place, and he shall live with them.

וְכִי יִרְדֹּף גֹּאֵל הַדָּם אַחֲרָיו וְלֹא יַסְגִּרוּ אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ בְּיָדוֹ כִּי בִבְלִי דַעַת הִכָּה אֶת רֵעֵהוּ וְלֹא שֹׂנֵא הוּא לוֹ מִתְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם

If the blood redeemer pursues him, they shall not deliver the murderer into his hand. This is the legal significance of the cities of refuge; that as long as an unwitting murderer is in the city he remains protected and he may not be harmed, because he smote his neighbor without intent, and he did not hate him previously.

וְיָשַׁב בָּעִיר הַהִיא עַד עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לַמִּשְׁפָּט עַד מוֹת הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אָז יָשׁוּב הָרוֹצֵחַ וּבָא אֶל עִירוֹ וְאֶל בֵּיתוֹ אֶל הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר נָס מִשָּׁם

He shall live in that city, until he stands before the representatives of the congregation for judgment. The murderer contends that he killed by accident, but he must still stand trial. He receives temporary sanctuary, as the trial may substantiate his claim or refute it. If the testimony issued at the trial establishes that he indeed acted unwittingly, he returns to the city and remains there until the death of the High Priest who will be in those days. There is no fixed duration for his stay in the city of refuge. The death of the High Priest is the sign that his period of exile has come to an end, and then the murderer may return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.

וַיַּקְדִּשׁוּ אֶת קֶדֶשׁ בַּגָּלִיל בְּהַר נַפְתָּלִי וְאֶת שְׁכֶם בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם וְאֶת קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע הִיא חֶבְרוֹן בְּהַר יְהוּדָה

They designated as cities of refuge Kedesh in the Galilee in the highlands of Naphtali, and Shekhem in the highlands of Ephraim, and Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron, in the highlands of Judah. These three cities are spaced so that they divide the land into three approximately equal parts.

וּמֵעֵבֶר לְיַרְדֵּן יְרִיחוֹ מִזְרָחָה נָתְנוּ אֶת בֶּצֶר בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּמִּישֹׁר מִמַּטֵּה רְאוּבֵן וְאֶת רָאמֹת בַּגִּלְעָד מִמַּטֵּה גָד וְאֶת גּוֹלָן בַּבָּשָׁן מִמַּטֵּה מְנַשֶּׁה

Beyond the Jordan of Jericho to the east, already in the days of Moses they had assigned Betzer in the wilderness, in the plain, from the portion of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramot in Gilad, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.

אֵלֶּה הָיוּ עָרֵי הַמּוּעָדָה לְכֹל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם לָנוּס שָׁמָּה כָּל מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה וְלֹא יָמוּת בְּיַד גֹּאֵל הַדָּם עַד עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה

These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel. Alternatively, this may be translated: These were the cities to which people would be directed, for all the children of Israel. And these cities will serve equally for the stranger who resides among them, as there is no difference between a native-born Israelite and a stranger in this regard, for anyone who takes a life unwittingly to flee there and not die at the hand of the blood redeemer, until he stands before the congregation for trial.