The Inheritance of the Levites

35¹ And the Lord said to Moses in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho, ² Give orders to the children of Israel to give to the Levites, from the heritage which is theirs, towns for themselves, with land on the outskirts of the towns. ³ These towns are to be their living-places, with land round them for their cattle and their food and all their beasts, ⁴ Stretching from the wall of the towns a distance of a thousand cubits all round. ⁵ The measure of this space of land is to be two thousand cubits outside the town on the east, and two thousand cubits on the south and on the west and on the north, the town being in the middle. This space will be the outskirts of their towns. ⁶ And the towns which you give the Levites are to be the six safe places to which the taker of life may go in flight; and in addition you are to give them forty-two towns. ⁷ Forty-eight towns are to be given to the Levites, all with land round them. ⁸ And these towns are to be given out of the heritage of the children of Israel, taking the greater number from those who have much, and a smaller number from those who have little: everyone, in the measure of his heritage, is to give of his property to the Levites.

The Cities of Refuge

⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ Say to the children of Israel, when you have gone over Jordan into the land of Canaan; ¹¹ Then let certain towns be marked out as safe places to which anyone who takes the life of another in error may go in flight. ¹² In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people. ¹³ Six of the towns which you give will be such safe places; ¹⁴ Three on the other side of Jordan and three in the land of Canaan, to be safe places for flight. ¹⁵ For the children of Israel and for the man from another country who is living among them, these six towns are to be safe places, where anyone causing the death of another through error may go in flight. ¹⁶ But if a man gives another man a blow with an iron instrument, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death. ¹⁷ Or if he gives him a blow with a stone in his hand, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he gave him blows with a wood instrument in his hands, causing his death, he is a taker of life and is certainly to be put to death. ¹⁹ He whose right it is to give punishment for blood, may himself put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him. ²⁰ If in his hate he put a sword through him, or waiting secretly for him sent a spear or stone at him, causing his death; ²¹ Or in hate gave him blows with his hand, causing death; he who gave the death-blow is to be put to death; he is a taker of life: he whose right it is to give punishment for blood may put to death the taker of life when he comes face to face with him. ²² But if a man has given a wound to another suddenly and not in hate, or without design has sent something against him, ²³ Or has given him a blow with a stone, without seeing him, so causing his death, though he had nothing against him and no desire to do him evil: ²⁴ Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules: ²⁵ And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if ever he goes outside the walls of the safe town where he had gone in flight, ²⁷ And the giver of punishment, meeting him outside the walls of the town, puts him to death, he will not be responsible for his blood: ²⁸ Because he had been ordered to keep inside the safe town till the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the taker of life may come back to the place of his heritage.

The Law concerning Bloodshed

²⁹ These rules are to be your guide in judging through all your generations wherever you may be living. ³⁰ Anyone causing the death of another is himself to be put to death on the word of witnesses: but the word of one witness is not enough. ³¹ Further, no price may be given for the life of one who has taken life and whose right reward is death: he is certainly to be put to death. ³² And no price may be offered for one who has gone in flight to a safe town, for the purpose of letting him come back to his place before the death of the high priest. ³³ So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it. ³⁴ Do not make unclean the land where you are living and in which is my House: for I the Lord am present among the children of Israel.

The Law concerning the Marriage of Heiresses

36¹ Now the heads of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came to Moses, the chiefs and the heads of families of the children of Israel being present, ² And said, The Lord gave orders to my lord to make distribution of the land as their heritage to the children of Israel: and my lord was ordered by the Lord to give the heritage of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters. ³ Now if they get married to any of the sons of other tribes of the children of Israel, then their property will be taken away from the heritage of our fathers, and become part of the heritage of the tribe into which they get married: and their heritage will be taken away from the heritage of our tribe. ⁴ And at the time of the Jubilee of the children of Israel, their property will be joined to the heritage of the tribe of which they are part and will be taken away from the heritage of the tribe of our fathers.

⁵ So by the direction of the Lord, Moses gave orders to the children of Israel, saying, What the tribe of the sons of Joseph have said is right. ⁶ This is the order of the Lord about the daughters of Zelophehad: The Lord says, Let them take as their husbands whoever is most pleasing to them, but only among the family of their father's tribe. ⁷ And so no property will be handed from tribe to tribe among the children of Israel; but every one of the children of Israel will keep the heritage of his father's tribe. ⁸ And every daughter owning property in any tribe of the children of Israel is to be married to one of the family of her father's tribe, so that every man of the children of Israel may keep the heritage of his fathers. ⁹ And no property will be handed from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel will keep its heritage. ¹⁰ So the daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord gave orders to Moses: ¹¹ For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, took as their husbands the sons of their father's brothers: ¹² And were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their property was kept in the tribe of their father's family ¹³ These are the laws and the orders which the Lord gave to the children of Israel by Moses, in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho.

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce

10¹ And he got up, and went into the country of Judaea on the other side of Jordan: and great numbers of people came together to him again; and, as was his way, he gave them teaching. ² And Pharisees came to him, testing him with the question, Is it right for a man to put away his wife? ³ And he said to them in answer, What did Moses say you were to do? ⁴ And they said to him, Moses let us give her a statement in writing, and be free from her. ⁵ But Jesus said to them, Because of your hard hearts he gave you this law. ⁶ But from the first, male and female made he them. ⁷ For this cause will a man go away from his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; ⁸ And the two will become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Let not that which has been joined together by God be parted by man. ¹⁰ And in the house the disciples put questions to him again about this thing. ¹¹ And he said to them, Whoever puts away his wife and takes another, is false to his wife; ¹² And if she herself puts away her husband and takes another, she is false to her husband.

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ And they took to him little children, so that he might put his hands on them: and the disciples said sharp words to them. ¹⁴ And when Jesus saw it, he was angry, and said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not keep them away; for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, Whoever does not put himself under the kingdom of God like a little child, will not come into it at all. ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms, and gave them a blessing, putting his hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷ And while he was going out into the way, a man came running to him, and went down on his knees, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life? ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, Why do you say I am good? no one is good but one, and that is God. ¹⁹ You have knowledge of what is said in the law, Do not put any one to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Do not get money by deceit, Give honour to your father and mother. ²⁰ And he said to him, Master, all these laws I have kept from the time when I was young. ²¹ And Jesus, looking on him and loving him, said, There is one thing needed: go, get money for your goods, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come with me. ²² But his face became sad at the saying, and he went away sorrowing: for he was one who had much property. ²³ And Jesus, looking round about, said to his disciples, How hard it is for those who have wealth to come into the kingdom of God! ²⁴ And the disciples were full of wonder at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is for those who put faith in wealth to come into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man of wealth to come into the kingdom of God. ²⁶ And they were greatly surprised, saying to him, Who then may have salvation? ²⁷ Jesus, looking on them, said, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God. ²⁸ Peter said to him, See, we have given up everything, and come after you. ²⁹ Jesus said, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, because of me and the good news, ³⁰ Who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land—though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life. ³¹ But a great number who are first will be last: and those who are last will be first.