Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
"Tell the Israelites to appoint the cities of refuge, just as I instructed through Moses. These will be places where anyone who kills a person accidentally and without intent may flee and find safety from the avenger of blood."
When the person flees to one of these cities, they must stand at the city gate and explain their case to the elders. The elders shall then welcome them into the city and give them a home among them.
If the avenger of blood comes after the person, the city leaders must not hand over the one accused, because the death was without hatred or premeditation. The person must stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Afterward, they may return to their own home in the town they fled from.
So the Israelites set apart:
Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali,
Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim,
Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
And across the Jordan, east of Jericho, they appointed:
Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau, in the tribe of Reuben,
Ramoth in Gilead, in the tribe of Gad,
Golan in Bashan, in the tribe of Manasseh.
These cities served as sanctuaries for any Israelite or foreigner living among them—so that anyone who killed a person accidentally could flee there and be protected until standing trial before the community.