Joshua 20 · Verse 9

Joshua 20:9

These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
Joshua 20:9, King James Version

Joshua 20:9 in other translations

BSBThese are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.
WEBThese were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.
ASVThese were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person unwittingly might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
YLTThese have been cities of meeting for all the sons of Israel, and for a sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, for the fleeing thither of any one smiting life inadvertently, and he doth not die by the hand of the redeemer of blood till his standing before the company.
DARBYThese were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever smiteth any one mortally without intent might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the assembly.
BBEThese were the towns marked out for all the children of Israel and for the man from a strange country living among them, so that anyone causing the death of another in error, might go in flight there, and not be put to death by him who has the right of punishment for blood till he had come before the meeting of the people.
WebsterThese were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger sojourning among them, that whoever should kill any person unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

What does Joshua 20:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 20:7-9

Jos 20:7-9. The Israelites Appoint by Name the Cities of Refuge. 7-9. they appointed ... cities--There were six; three on the west, and three on the east, of Jordan. In the first instance, they were a provision of the criminal law of the Hebrews, necessary in the circumstances of that people (see on Nu 35:11; De 19:2). At the same time they were designed also typically to point out the sinner's way to Christ (He…

Read the full comment on Joshua 20:7-9 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 For all the children of Israel, and for the stranger - As these typified the great provision which God was making for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, hence the stranger as well as the Israelite had the same right to the benefits of these cities of refuge. Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Until he stood before the congregation - The judges and elders of the people, in trying civil and criminal causes, always sat; the persons who came for judgment, or who were tried, always stood; hence the expressions so frequent in Scripture, Standing before the Lord, the judges, the elders, etc. It is worthy of remark that the cities of refuge were given to the Levites; see the following chapter, Joshua 21 (note). The sacrificial system alone afforded refuge; and while the suspected person was excluded from his family, etc., he had the advantage of being with those whose business it was to instruct the ignorant, and comfort the disconsolate. Thus he had the means constantly at hand, by a careful use of which he might grow wiser and better; secure the favor of his God, and a lot of blessedness in a better world. How wise, equal, and beneficent are all the institutions of God!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 20:7-9

These cities, as those also on the other side Jordan, stood so that a man might in half a day reach one of them from any part of the country. God is ever a Refuge at hand. They were all Levites' cities. It was kindness to the poor fugitive, that when he might not go up to the house of the Lord, yet he had the servants of God with him, to instruct him, and pray for him, and to help to make up the want of public…

Read the full comment on Joshua 20:7-9 →

Joshua 20:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֵ֣לֶּה'E.lehtheseH428
הָיוּ֩ha.Yuthey wereH1961
עָרֵ֨י'a.Rei[the] cities ofH5892
הַמּֽוּעָדָ֜הha.mu.'a.Dah<the> appointingH4152
לְכֹ֣ל\׀le.Kholfor allH3605
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
וְלַגֵּר֙ve.la.Gerand for the sojournerH1616
הַגָּ֣רha.Garwho sojournsH1481
בְּתוֹכָ֔םbe.to.Khamin midst of themH8432
לָנ֣וּסla.Nusto fleeH5127
שָׁ֔מָּהSha.mahthere towardsH8033
כָּל\־kol-anyH3605
מַכֵּה\־ma.keh-[one who] strikes downH5221
נֶ֖פֶשׁNe.fesh<of> a personH5315
בִּשְׁגָגָ֑הbish.ga.Gahby inadvertenceH7684
וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808
יָמ֗וּתya.Muthe will dieH4191
בְּיַד֙be.Yadby [the] hand ofH3027
גֹּאֵ֣לgo.'El[the] avenger ofH1350
הַדָּ֔םha.Dam<the> bloodH1818
עַד\־'ad-untilH5704
עָמְד֖וֹa.me.Dostands heH5975
לִפְנֵ֥יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
הָעֵדָֽה\׃\ \פha.'e.Dahthe congregationH5712

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 20:9

  • Numbers 35:15

    These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.

  • Joshua 20:4

    And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

  • Joshua 20:6

    And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the cities.
Nu 35:15
until he stood.
4,6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 20:8

    And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

  • Joshua 20:9

    These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

Read all of Joshua 20

Joshua 20:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Estas fueron las ciudades señaladas para todos los hijos de Israel, y para el extranjero que morase entre ellos, para que se acogiese á ellas cualquiera que hiriese hombre por yerro, y no muriese por mano del cercano del muerto, hasta que compareciese delante del ayuntamiento.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Ce furent là les villes assignées à tous les fils d’Israël et à l’étranger qui séjournait parmi eux, afin que quiconque aurait, par mégarde, frappé à mort quelqu’un, s’y enfuie, et ne meure pas de la main du vengeur du sang, jusqu’à ce qu’il ait comparu devant l’assemblée.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Das waren die bestimmten Städte für alle Kinder Israel und für den Fremdling, der in ihrer Mitte weilte, auf daß dahin fliehe ein jeder, der jemand aus Versehen erschlagen würde, damit er nicht durch die Hand des Bluträchers sterbe, bis er vor der Gemeinde gestanden habe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Hæ civitates constitutæ sunt cunctis filiis Israël, et advenis qui habitabant inter eos, ut fugeret ad eas qui animam nescius percussisset, et non moreretur in manu proximi, effusum sanguinem vindicare cupientis, donec staret ante populum expositurus causam suam.