Joshua 20:3

Joshua 20:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
• New International Version (NIV)so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.
• New King James Version (NKJV)that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Anyone who kills another person accidentally and unintentionally can run to one of these cities; they will be places of refuge from relatives seeking revenge for the person who was killed.

Context of Joshua 20:3

1Then the Lord said to Joshua, 2"Say to the people of Israel, 'Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. 5And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him in the past.

Joshua 20:3 word by word

לָנ֥וּס שָׁ֙מָּה֙ רוֹצֵ֔חַ מַכֵּה־נֶ֥פֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָ֖ה בִּבְלִי־דָ֑עַת וְהָי֤וּ לָכֶם֙ לְמִקְלָ֔ט מִגֹּאֵ֖ל הַדָּֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• That the slayerרָצַחrâtsach · to murderH7523
• that killethנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• personנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
• unawaresשְׁגָגָהshegâgâh · sin of errorH7684
• unwittinglyדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
• may fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• thither: and they shall be your refugeמִקְלָטmiqlâţ · refugeH4733
• from the avengerגָּאַלgâ'al · to redeem: avengeH1350
• of bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818

Commentaries on Joshua 20:3

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The relatives of a victim murdered or killed unintentionally or accidentally were responsible for seeking revenge. If the avenger (Hebrew go’el) found the person who killed outside a city of refuge, he could kill him without suffering punishment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-61-3. The Lord spake unto Joshua ... Appoint out for you cities of refuge--(See Nu 35:9-28; De 19:1-13). The command here recorded was given on their going to occupy their allotted settlements. The sanctuaries were not temples or altars, as in other countries, but inhabited cities; and the design was not to screen criminals, but only to afford the homicide protection from the vengeance of the deceased's relatives until it should have been ascertained…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 20:3

• Avenger of Blood
• Communion
• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• Avenger of blood
• Appoint
• Refuge
• Assassination
• Cruel; Cruelty
• Goel
• Homicide
• Ignorance
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of

Commentaries on Joshua 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings