“‘If a man eats a holy offering by mistake, ¹  he must add one fifth to it and give the holy offering to the priest. ² 

And the whole community ¹  of the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional offense.

“‘If any person ¹  sins unintentionally, then he must bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering.

You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.

“Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally ¹  from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any ²  one of them ³  –

“‘Whenever ¹  a leader, by straying unintentionally, ²  sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, ³  and he pleads guilty,

“‘If an ordinary individual ¹  sins by straying unintentionally ²  when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, ³  and he pleads guilty

And the priest must make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally – when he sins unintentionally before the Lord – to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

you must then designate some towns as towns of refuge for you, to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee.

These six towns will be places of refuge for the Israelites, and for the foreigner, and for the settler among them, so that anyone who kills any person accidentally may flee there.

Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there; ¹  these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood.

“When a person commits a trespass ¹  and sins by straying unintentionally ²  from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, ³  then he must bring his penalty for guilt ⁴  to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, ⁵  for a guilt offering. ⁶ 

These were the cities of refuge ¹  appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by ²  the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly. ³