THE CITIES OF REFUGE
9 The Lord said to Moses,
10 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally.
12 These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community.
13 Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves,
14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan.
15 These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.
16 “But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed.
17 Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.
18 Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death.
19 The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death.
20 So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder.
21 Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet.
ACTS 6:8-15
THE ARREST OF STEPHEN
8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.
9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia.
10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.
11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.”
12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.
13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.
14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.
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