Exodus 21:13

Exodus 21:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
• New International Version (NIV)However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
• New King James Version (NKJV)However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

Context of Exodus 21:13

11If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment. 12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death. 15Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:13 word by word

וַאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א צָדָ֔ה וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אִנָּ֣ה לְיָד֑וֹ וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י לְךָ֙ מָק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָנ֖וּס שָֽׁמָּה׃ סRead the interlinear

• If, howeverאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• he did notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• lie in waitצָדָהtsâdâh · to ambushH6658
• but Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• allowed it to happenאָנָה'ânâh · to meetH579
• allowed it to happenיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• then I will appointשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: appointH7760
• a placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• he may fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• he may fleeשָׁםshâm · thereH8033

Cross-references for Exodus 21:13

• Numbers 35:11designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.
• Deuteronomy 19:4Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:
• Micah 7:2The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
• 1 Samuel 24:4So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
• 2 Samuel 16:10But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’”
• Isaiah 10:7But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
• Deuteronomy 4:41Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east
• Deuteronomy 19:1When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses,
• Joshua 20:2“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,

Commentaries on Exodus 21:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee - From the earliest times the nearest akin had a right to revenge the murder of his relation, and as this right was universally acknowledged, no law was ever made on the subject; but as this might be abused, and a person who had killed another accidentally, having had no previous malice against him, might be put to death by the avenger of blood, as the nearest kinsman was termed, therefore God provided the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13There was no place of safety for the guilty murderer, not even the altar of Yahweh. Thus all superstitious notions connected with the right of sanctuary were excluded. Adonijah and Joab 1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28 appear to have vainly trusted that the common feeling would protect them, if they took hold of the horns of the altar on which atonement with blood was made Leviticus 4:7. But for one who killed a man “at unawares,” that is, without intending to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 God, who by his providence gives and maintains life, by his law protects it. A wilful murderer shall be taken even from God's altar. But God provided cities of refuge to protect those whose unhappiness it was, and not their fault, to cause the death of another; for such as by accident, when a man is doing a lawful act, without intent of hurt, happens to kill another. Let children hear the sentence of God's word upon the ungrateful and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17The crimes of murder, kidnapping, and cursing or striking one’s parents were punished by death. A person who committed murder gave up his own right to live. Human life is very precious in God’s sight. Even when a death was accidental, it could not simply be ignored. However, the law made a difference between murder and accidental killing. God provided places of refuge (see Numbers 35:6–28). These were special towns where a person who killed someone by…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-367-11. if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his intended wife, or her freedom instantly granted.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 21:13

• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Avenger of blood
• Book
• City
• Crucifixion
• Determine
• Gore
• Push
• Quit

Commentaries on Exodus 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings