Numbers 35:31

Numbers 35:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.

Context of Numbers 35:31

29And this shall be unto you a statute of right throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die. And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death. 32And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

Numbers 35:31 word by word

וְלֹֽא־תִקְח֥וּ כֹ֙פֶר֙ לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ רֹצֵ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־ה֥וּא רָשָׁ֖ע לָמ֑וּת כִּי־מ֖וֹת יוּמָֽת׃Read the interlinear

• takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: recieveH3947
• lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• murdererרָצַחrâtsach · to murderH7523
• guiltyרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• deathמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Numbers 35:31

• Genesis 9:5And indeed your blood, [the blood] of your lives, will I require: at the hand of every animal will I require it, and at the hand of Man, at the hand of each [the blood] of his brother, will I require the life of Man.
• Exodus 21:14But if a man act wantonly toward his neighbour, and slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
• Deuteronomy 19:11But if a man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and he flee into one of these cities,
• 2 Samuel 12:13And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah has also put away thy sin: thou shalt not die.
• 1 Kings 2:28And the report came to Joab (for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom); and Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah, and caught hold of the horns of the altar.
• Psalms 51:14Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Commentaries on Numbers 35:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer - No atonement could be made for him, nor any commutation, so as to save him from death. All the laws of the civilized world have either adjudged the murderer to death, or to a punishment equivalent to it; such as perpetual imprisonment, in a dungeon, under ground, on a stone floor, without light, and to be fed on a small portion of bread and water. In such circumstances a man could live but a short…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31No satisfaction - Rather, ransom (see Exodus 21:30). The permission to demand pecuniary compensation for murders (expressly sanctioned by the Koran) undoubtedly mitigates, in practice, the system of private retaliation; but it does so by sacrificing the principle named in Numbers 35:12, Numbers 35:33.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-34Verses 9-34 To show plainly the abhorrence of murder, and to provide the more effectually for the punishment of the murderer, the nearest relation of the deceased, under the title of avenger of blood, (or the redeemer of blood,) in notorious cases, might pursue, and execute vengeance. A distinction is made, not between sudden anger and malice aforethought, both which are the crime of murder; but between intentionally striking a man with any weapon likely…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31-32The law did not allow the payment of a ransom (money paid as compensation) to free a convicted murderer from execution. The death penalty was required for murder (compare 2 Samuel 21:2–9). Similarly, a person who caused an accidental death could not pay money to avoid staying in a city of refuge. That person had to remain there until the proper time.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 29-3429-34. these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations--The law of the blood-avenger, as thus established by divine authority, was a vast improvement on the ancient practice of Goelism. By the appointment of cities of refuge, the manslayer was saved, in the meantime, from the blind and impetuous fury of vindictive relatives; but he might be tried by the local court, and, if proved guilty on sufficient evidence…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 35:31

• Homicide
• Punishment
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• City
• Congregation
• Murder
• Redemption
• Refuge, Cities of
• Testify
• Amorites
• Assassination
• Courts, Judicial

Commentaries on Numbers 35

• 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