Numbers 35:3

Verse

The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts.

Bible in Basic English

These towns are to be their living-places, with land round them for their cattle and their food and all their beasts,

Free Bible Version

The towns are for them to live in, and the pastures will be for their herds and their flocks—for all their livestock.

King James (Authorized) Version

And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

One Unity Resource Bible

They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.

Translation for Translators

Those will be for the descendants of Levi to live in, and around the cities will be land for their cattle and flocks of sheep and goats and other animals.

Unlocked Literal Bible

The Levites will have these cities to live in. The pastureland will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their animals.

Noah Webster Bible

And they shall have the cities to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

World English Bible

They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.

Young's Literal Translation

And the cities have been to them to inhabit, and their suburbs are for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

Context

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites

²“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities.³The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock.

Summary

In Numbers 35:3, God instructs the Israelites to designate cities of refuge for those who unintentionally commit manslaughter. These cities were places of safety where the accused could flee and receive a fair trial rather than facing immediate retribution. This command reflects God's justice tempered with mercy, providing a system to protect the innocent while upholding the sanctity of life. It also underscores the importance of due process and the value of human life in God's eyes, emphasizing the need for compassion and fairness in administering justice.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

And cities shall they have to dwell in,.... For them and their families, and indeed for nothing else, they having no trades nor worldly business to carry on in them: and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle; for stables and stalls to put them up in, and for barns and storehouses to lay in provender for them: and for their goods; where to bestow them, as the increase of their fields, oliveyards, and vineyards, see Luk 12:18. and for all their beasts; or living creatures; or "for their whole life" (z); or livelihood, whatsoever was for the support of it; the Targum of Jonathan adds, by way of explanation, for all their necessities; and so Jarchi. (z) "ad vitam ipsorum". Vid. Drusium.