22. " 'But what if a person suddenly pushes someone else without being angry? Or what if that person throws something at him without meaning to?
23. Or what if that person does not see him and drops a stone on him that kills him? He was not the dead person's enemy. He did not mean to harm him.
24. " 'Then the court must decide between the person who did the act and the nearest male relative of the one who was killed. Here are the rules the court must follow.
25. " 'The court must provide a safe place for the person who is charged with murder. It must keep him safe from those who want to kill him. The court must send him back to the city he ran to for safety. He must stay there until the high priest dies. The priest is the one who has been anointed with the holy oil.
26. " 'But suppose the one who has been charged with murder goes outside that city.
27. And suppose the dead person's nearest male relative finds that one outside the city. Then the relative can kill the one who has been charged. The relative will not be guilty of murder.
28. " 'The one who has been charged must stay in that city until the high priest dies. Only then can the one who has been charged return home.
29. " 'That is what the law requires of you for all time to come. It will apply to you no matter where you live.
30. " 'Suppose a person kills someone. That person must be put to death as a murderer. But do it only when there are witnesses who can tell what happened. Do not put anyone to death if only one witness tells what happened.
31. " 'Do not accept payment for a murderer's life. He should die. He must certainly be put to death.
32. " 'Do not accept payment for anyone who has run to a city for safety. Do not let him buy his freedom to return home. He must not go back and live on his own land before the high priest dies.
33. " 'Do not pollute the land where you are. Murder pollutes the land. Only one thing can pay to remove the pollution in the land where murder has been committed. The blood of the one who spilled another's blood must be spilled.