“Those were the days\par when I went to the city gate\par and sat with the elders of the city\par in the public meeting place.\par
Joshua 20:4 - Easy To Read Version “This is what that person must do. When he runs away and goes to one of those cities, he must stop at the entrance of the city. He must stand at the gate and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then the leaders can allow him to enter the city. They will give him a place to live among them. More versionsKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 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. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition He who flees to one of those cities shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city; they shall receive him to [the protection of] that city and give him a place to dwell among them. American Standard Version (1901) 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. Common English Bible The killer will flee to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and explain their situation to the elders of that city. The elders are to let the killer into the city and provide a place of refuge for the killer to live with them. Catholic Public Domain Version And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version 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. |
“Those were the days\par when I went to the city gate\par and sat with the elders of the city\par in the public meeting place.\par
There was no one to help his children.\par No one defended them in court.\par
Lord, don’t group me with those sinners.\par Don’t kill me with those murderers.\par
People respect her husband.\par He is one of the leaders of the land.\par
But a man named Ebed Melech heard that those officials had put Jeremiah into the cistern. {\cf2\super [325]} Ebed Melech was a man from Ethiopia, and he was a eunuch {\cf2\super [326]} in the king’s house. King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate. So Ebed Melech left the king’s house and went to talk to the king at that gate.
Those two things cannot change. God cannot lie when he says something and he cannot lie when he makes a vow. So those things give great comfort to us who came to God for safety. Those two things give us comfort and strength to continue in the hope that God gives us.
If any person kills another person, but it is an accident and he did not mean to kill that person, then he can go to a city of safety to hide from the relatives who want to kill him.