Then Moses selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east.

Realize that ¹  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ²  the Lord responds ³  when I cry out to him.

the clan of the descendants of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; and the clan of the Shimeites ¹  by itself and their wives by themselves –

Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves.

For no one ¹  can eat and drink ²  or experience joy ³  apart from him. ⁴ 

For we consider that a person ¹  is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. ² 

So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

The land will mourn, clan by clan – the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan ¹  by itself and their wives by themselves;

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with ¹  Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers, ² 

And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive

Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ¹  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings ²  in his name, as they do to this very day.

The whole allotment will be eight and a quarter miles ¹  square, you must set apart the holy allotment with the possession of the city.

Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ¹  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?”

When he had finished ¹  speaking ²  all these words, the ground that was under them split open,

Also included were the cities set apart for the tribe of Ephraim within Manasseh’s territory, along with their towns. ¹ 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains ¹  in me – and I in him – bears ²  much fruit, ³  because apart from me you can accomplish ⁴  nothing.

But now ¹  apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) ²  has been disclosed –

So in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, all Israel was contributing the portions for the singers and gatekeepers, according to the daily need. ¹  They also set aside ²  the portion for the Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron.

all the clans that remain, each separately with their wives.”