Joshua 20:5

Joshua 20:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.
• New International Version (NIV)If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him in the past.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand.

Context of Joshua 20:5

3Anyone can be safe in these cities if he has killed someone but he did not mean to kill. A person like that must run to one of these towns and he will be safe from the dead person's relative. 4The person who killed someone must go to the special city. When he arrives, he must stand at the gate of the city. There he must tell the leaders what he has done. Then they must take him into the city. They must give him a place to stay so that he can live there. The dead person's relative may chase after the killer. The leaders of the city must not let him hurt the killer. This is because the killer did not mean to kill. 6The killer must stay inside that city. The judges there will decide if he is not guilty of murder. Then he must wait until the leader of the priests dies. After that, he is free to return to the town that he came from.’ 7So they chose these towns: Kedesh in Galilee (in the hill country of Naphtali), Shechem (in the hill country of Ephraim), and Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah).

Joshua 20:5 word by word

וְכִ֨י יִרְדֹּ֜ף גֹּאֵ֤ל הַדָּם֙ אַֽחֲרָ֔יו וְלֹֽא־יַסְגִּ֥רוּ אֶת־הָרֹצֵ֖חַ בְּיָד֑וֹ כִּ֤י בִבְלִי־דַ֙עַת֙ הִכָּ֣ה אֶת־רֵעֵ֔הוּ וְלֹֽא־שֹׂנֵ֥א ה֛וּא ל֖וֹ מִתְּמ֥וֹל שִׁלְשֽׁוֹם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And if the avengerגָּאַלgâ'al · to redeem: avengeH1350
• of bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• pursueרָדַףrâdaph · to pursueH7291
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• him, then they shall not deliverסָגַרsâgar · to shutH5462
• the slayerרָצַחrâtsach · to murderH7523
• up into his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• because he smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• his neighbourרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• unwittinglyדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
• unwittinglyבְּלִיbelîy · withoutH1097
• and hatedשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
• him not beforetimeשִׁלְשֹׁםshilshôm shilshôm · three days agoH8032
• him not beforetimeתְּמוֹלtemôl temôl · yesterdayH8543

Cross-references for Joshua 20:5

• Numbers 35:12Those towns will be places where the killer can be safe from the dead person's relative. The killer will not die before the people in the town have judged him.

Commentaries on Joshua 20:5

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6These verses review the law about cities of refuge (see also Numbers 35:6–34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-61-3. The Lord spake unto Joshua ... Appoint out for you cities of refuge--(See Nu 35:9-28; De 19:1-13). The command here recorded was given on their going to occupy their allotted settlements. The sanctuaries were not temples or altars, as in other countries, but inhabited cities; and the design was not to screen criminals, but only to afford the homicide protection from the vengeance of the deceased's relatives until it should have been ascertained…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 20:5

• Avenger of Blood
• Communion
• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• Avenger of blood
• Appoint
• Refuge
• Assassination
• Cruel; Cruelty
• Goel
• Homicide
• Ignorance
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of

Commentaries on Joshua 20

• 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