Cities of Refuge

19 “When the Lord your God annihilates the nations whose land he is giving you,^(A) so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses, ² you are to set apart three cities for yourselves within the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.^{(B) 3} You are to determine the distances^[a] and divide the land the Lord your God is granting you as an inheritance into three regions, so that anyone who commits manslaughter can flee to these cities.^[b]

⁴ “Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him: ⁵ If, for example, he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings the ax to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies, that person may flee to one of these cities and live. ⁶ Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger^[c] might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die,^[d] since he did not previously hate his neighbor. ⁷ This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves. ⁸ If the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised to give them— ⁹ provided you keep every one of these commands I am giving you today and follow them, loving the Lord your God and walking in his ways at all times—you are to add three more cities to these three. ¹⁰ In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.^{(C) 11} But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, ¹² the elders of his city are to send for him, take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die. ¹³ Do not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.

Boundary Markers

¹⁴ “Do not move your neighbor’s boundary marker,^(D) established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

Witnesses in Court

¹⁵ “One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done.^(E) A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(F)

¹⁶ “If a malicious witness^(G) testifies against someone accusing him of a crime, ¹⁷ the two people in the dispute are to stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges in authority at that time. ¹⁸ The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, ¹⁹ you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you. ²⁰ Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you.^{(H) 21} Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.^(I)

The New Creation

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;^(A) for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,^(B) and the sea was no more.^{(C) 2} I also saw the holy city,^(D) the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,^(E) prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.^(F)

³ Then I heard a loud voice^(G) from the throne:^[a](H) Look, God’s dwelling^[b] is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples,^[c](I) and God himself will be with them and will be their God.^{[d] 4} He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.^(J) Death will be no more;^(K) grief, crying, and pain will be no more,^(L) because the previous things^[e] have passed away.^(M)

⁵ Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words^[f] are faithful and true.”^{(N) 6} Then he said to me, “It is done!^(O) I am the Alpha and the Omega,^(P) the beginning and the end.^(Q) I will freely give to the thirsty^(R) from the spring of the water of life.^{(S) 7} The one who conquers^(T) will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.^{(U) 8} But the cowards, faithless,^[g] detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars^(V)—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur,^(W) which is the second death.”^(X)

The New Jerusalem

⁹ Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,^(Y) came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ He then carried me away in the Spirit^[h](Z) to a great, high mountain^(AA) and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, ¹¹ arrayed with God’s glory.^(AB) Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.^{(AC) 14} The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.

¹⁵ The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod^(AD) to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.^{(AE) 16} The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia.^[i] Its length, width, and height are equal. ¹⁷ Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used. ¹⁸ The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold clear as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of jewel:^(AF) the first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street^[j] of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.

²² I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.^{(AG) 24} The nations will walk by its light,^(AH) and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.^{[k](AI) 25} Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there.^{(AJ) 26} They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.^{[l](AK) 27} Nothing unclean will ever enter it,^(AL) nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.^(AM)