Day 104 of 730

¹The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,

³that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

⁴He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.

⁵If the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and did not hate him before.

⁶He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the manslayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.'"

⁷They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

⁸Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

⁹These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands before the congregation.

¹Then the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.

²They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our livestock."

³The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of the Lord, these cities with their suburbs.

⁴The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin.

⁵The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun.

⁸The children of Israel gave these cities with their suburbs by lot to the Levites, as the Lord commanded by Moses.

⁹They gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned by name:

¹⁰and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot.

¹¹They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its suburbs around it.

¹²But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

¹³To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah with its suburbs,

¹⁴Jattir with its suburbs, Eshtemoa with its suburbs,

¹⁵Holon with its suburbs, Debir with its suburbs,

¹⁶Ain with its suburbs, Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth Shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

¹⁷Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs,

¹⁸Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs; four cities.

¹⁹All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

²⁰The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

²¹They gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs,

²²Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs; four cities.

²³Out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs,

²⁴Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath Rimmon with its suburbs; four cities.

²⁵Out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath Rimmon with its suburbs; two cities.

²⁶All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs.

²⁷They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be Eshterah with its suburbs; two cities.

²⁸Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs,

²⁹Jarmuth with its suburbs, En Gannim with its suburbs; four cities.

³⁰Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs,

³¹Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities.

³²Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammothdor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities.

³³All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

³⁴To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, Kartah with its suburbs,

³⁵Dimnah with its suburbs, and Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities.

³⁶Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, Jahaz with its suburbs,

³⁷Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities.

³⁸Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs,

³⁹Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all.

⁴⁰All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites. Their lot was twelve cities.

⁴¹All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs.

⁴²Each of these cities included their suburbs around them. It was this way with all these cities.

⁴³So the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it.

⁴⁴The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that he swore to their fathers. Not a man of all their enemies stood before them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

⁴⁵Nothing failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

¹Bless the Lord, my soul. The Lord, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.

²He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.

³He lays the beams of his chambers in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.

⁴He makes his angels winds; his servants flames of fire.

⁵He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.

⁶You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains.

⁷At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.

⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them.

⁹You have set a boundary that they may not pass over; that they do not turn again to cover the earth.

¹⁰He sends forth springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains.

¹¹They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.

¹³He waters the mountains from his chambers. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works.

¹⁴He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food out of the earth:

¹⁵wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man's heart.

¹⁶The Lord's trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted;

¹⁷where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the fir trees.

¹⁸The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

¹⁹He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.

²⁰You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.

²¹The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.

²²The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.

²³Man goes forth to his work, to his labor until the evening.

²⁴The Lord, how many are your works! In wisdom have you made them all. The earth is full of your riches.

²⁵There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.

²⁶There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.

²⁷These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season.

²⁸You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.

²⁹You hide your face: they are troubled; you take away their breath: they die, and return to the dust.

³⁰You send forth your Spirit: they are created. You renew the face of the ground.

³¹Let the glory of the Lord endure forever. Let the Lord rejoice in his works.

³²He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.

³⁴Let your meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the Lord.

³⁵Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord!

¹A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but accurate weights are his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.

⁷When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.

⁸A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.

¹⁴Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.

²⁰Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.

²¹Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous will be delivered.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.

²⁶People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.

²⁹He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner!