¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

² "Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and you shall give suburbs for the cities around them to the Levites.

³ The cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their substance, and for all their animals.

⁴ "The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it.

⁵ You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.

⁶ "The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to: and besides them you shall give forty-two cities.

⁷ All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their suburbs.

⁸ Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many; and from the few you shall take few: everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give of his cities to the Levites."

⁹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁰ "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

¹¹ then you shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

¹² The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

¹³ The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

¹⁴ You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.

¹⁵ For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

¹⁶ "'But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷ If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸ Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

¹⁹ The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death: when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

²⁰ If he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

²¹ or in enmity struck him with his hand, so that he died; he who struck him shall surely be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.

²² "'But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,

²³ or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm;

²⁴ then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances;

²⁵ and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he was fled: and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶ "'But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, where he flees,

²⁷ and the avenger of blood find him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer; he shall not be guilty of blood,

²⁸ because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.

²⁹ "'These things shall be for a statute [and] ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³⁰ "'Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.

³¹ "'Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.

³² "'You shall take no ransom for him who is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

³³ "'So you shall not pollute the land in which you are: for blood, it pollutes the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him who shed it.

³⁴ You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Yahweh, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.'"

¹ When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

² But the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

³ "Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

⁴ 'Thus says Yahweh, "You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers! Return every man to his house; for this thing is of me."'" So they listened to the words of Yahweh, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.

⁶ He built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

⁷ Beth Zur, and Soco, and Adullam,

⁸ and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

⁹ and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

¹⁰ and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

¹¹ He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, and oil and wine.

¹² In every city [he put] shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

¹³ The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their border.

¹⁴ For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office to Yahweh;

¹⁵ and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.

¹⁶ After them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.

¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.

¹⁸ Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, [and of] Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

¹⁹ and she bore him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.

²⁰ After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.)

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, [even] the prince among his brothers; for [he was minded] to make him king.

²³ He dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city: and he gave them food in abundance. He sought [for them] many wives.