Joshua 20:4
New International Version
When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them.

New Living Translation
“Upon reaching one of these cities, the one who caused the death will appear before the elders at the city gate and present his case. They must allow him to enter the city and give him a place to live among them.

English Standard Version
He 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.

Berean Standard Bible
When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

New American Standard Bible
Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and state his case in the presence of the elders of that city; and they shall receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them.

NASB 1995
‘He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.

NASB 1977
‘And he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and speak his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may live among them.

Amplified Bible
He 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; and they shall take him into [the protection of] the city and give him a place [to stay], so that he may live among them.

Christian Standard Bible
When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before the elders of that city, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before the elders of that city, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.

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

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he will flee into one of these cities and he shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and he shall speak before the Elders of that city, and he shall speak his words to them in the city and they will give to him a place to dwell with them

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when he shall flee to one of these cities: he shall stand before the gate of the city, and shall speak to the ancients of that city, such things as prove him innocent: and so shall they receive him, and give him a place to dwell in.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
" 'A person who kills someone accidentally can run to one of these cities. There he will stand at the entrance to the city, where court is held, and present his case to the leaders of that city. Then they will take him into their city and give him a place to live with them.

Good News Translation
You can run away to one of these cities, go to the place of judgment at the entrance to the city, and explain to the leaders what happened. Then they will let you into the city and give you a place to live in, so that you can stay there.

International Standard Version
He may run to one of those cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate, and tell his side of the story to the elders of the city. They are to bring him inside the city with them and provide him a place to live among them.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

Literal Standard Version
When [one] has fled to one of these cities, and has stood [at] the opening of the gate of the city, and has spoken his matter in the ears of [the] elderly of that city, then they have gathered him into the city to them, and have given a place to him, and he has dwelt with them.

Majority Standard Bible
When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.

New American Bible
To one of these cities the killer shall flee, and standing at the entrance of the city gate, shall plead his case in the hearing of the elders of the city, who must receive him and assign him a place in which to live among them.

NET Bible
The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.

New Revised Standard Version
The slayer shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and explain the case to the elders of that city; then the fugitive shall be taken into the city, and given a place, and shall remain with them.

New Heart English Bible
He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when he that doth flee to 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 to them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

World English Bible
He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.

Young's Literal Translation
When one hath fled unto one of these cities, and hath stood at the opening of the gate of the city, and hath spoken in the ears of the elders of that city his matter, then they have gathered him into the city unto them, and have given to him a place, and he hath dwelt with them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Six Cities of Refuge
3so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them. 5Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.…

Cross References
Joshua 20:3
so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

Ruth 4:1
Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.

Job 5:4
His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

Jeremiah 38:7
Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,


Treasury of Scripture

And when he that does flee to 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 to them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

at the entering

Revelation 4:1,2
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter…

Job 5:4
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

Job 29:7
When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!

take

Psalm 26:9
Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

that he may

Hebrews 6:18
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

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Joshua 20
1. God commands
7. and the children of Israel appoint the six cities of refuge














Verse 4. - And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities. This passage is in accordance with the instructions given in Numbers 35, but is not a quotation from it. The passage may be translated, "and he shall flee ... and shall stand." Shall declare his cause. Literally, shall speak. This was to be clone at the "gate of the city," the place where all legal business was transacted (see Ruth 4:1; 2 Samuel 15:2).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When someone flees
וְנָ֞ס (wə·nās)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5127: To flit, vanish away

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

one
אַחַ֣ת ׀ (’a·ḥaṯ)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

of these
הָאֵ֗לֶּה (hā·’êl·leh)
Article | Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

cities,
מֵהֶעָרִ֣ים (mê·he·‘ā·rîm)
Preposition-m, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 5892: Excitement

stands
וְעָמַד֙ (wə·‘ā·maḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

at the entrance
פֶּ֚תַח (pe·ṯaḥ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6607: An opening, door, entrance way

of the gate
שַׁ֣עַר (ša·‘ar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8179: An opening, door, gate

of the city,
הָעִ֔יר (hā·‘îr)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

and states
וְדִבֶּ֛ר (wə·ḏib·ber)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

his case
דְּבָרָ֑יו (də·ḇā·rāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

before [its] elders,
זִקְנֵ֥י־ (ziq·nê)
Adjective - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2205: Old

they are to bring
וְאָסְפ֨וּ (wə·’ā·sə·p̄ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 622: To gather for, any purpose, to receive, take away, remove

him into the city
הָעִ֙ירָה֙ (hā·‘î·rāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

and give
וְנָתְנוּ־ (wə·nā·ṯə·nū-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

him a place
מָק֖וֹם (mā·qō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition

to live
וְיָשַׁ֥ב (wə·yā·šaḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

among them.
עִמָּֽם׃ (‘im·mām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5973: With, equally with


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OT History: Joshua 20:4 He shall flee to one of those (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 20:3
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