⁵ Measure off an area around the city for the Levites. Start at the northeast corner and measure 3000 feet^[a] to the south. Then from this corner, measure 3000 feet to the west. From there measure 3000 feet to the north and from that corner, 3000 feet to the east. The city will be in the center of this area. ⁶ Six of those cities will be cities of safety. If a person accidentally kills someone, that person can run to those towns for safety. In addition to those six cities, you will also give 42 more cities to the Levites. ⁷ So you will give a total of 48 cities to the Levites. You will also give them the land around those cities.