EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Numbers 35:33
33Murder causes the land where you live to become unclean. You have to make it clean again. You must kill anyone who murders another person. That is the only way to make the land clean again.
Numbers 35:33 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
Context of Numbers 35:33
31You must not accept money to pay for the life of a murderer. If he is guilty of murder, you must kill him. 32Also, you must not accept money from a killer who has run to a safe city. You must not let him return to his own home until the leader of the priests has died. Murder causes the land where you live to become unclean. You have to make it clean again. You must kill anyone who murders another person. That is the only way to make the land clean again. 34You must not make the land where you live become unclean. It is the land where I also live. That is because I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.’
Read all of Numbers 35Numbers 35:33 word by word
וְלֹֽא־תַחֲנִ֣יפוּ אֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתֶּם֙ בָּ֔הּ כִּ֣י הַדָּ֔ם ה֥וּא יַחֲנִ֖יף אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְלָאָ֣רֶץ לֹֽא־יְכֻפַּ֗ר לַדָּם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שֻׁפַּךְ־בָּ֔הּ כִּי־אִ֖ם בְּדַ֥ם שֹׁפְכֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 35:33
- Leviticus 18:25Canaan is unclean because the people did these things. This is why God pushed the people out of that land.
- Deuteronomy 21:1In the land that the Lord your God is giving to you, you may find someone's dead body lying in a field. Someone has killed him but you do not know who the murderer is.
- 2 Kings 23:26But the Lord continued to be angry with the people of Judah. The wicked things that King Manasseh did had made him very angry.
- 2 Kings 24:4Manasseh had murdered people who had not done anything wrong. Their blood was in the streets of Jerusalem. The Lord would not agree to forgive Manasseh for his sins.
- Psalms 106:28After that, they started to worship the false god, Baal of Peor. They ate the food from sacrifices that people gave to dead idols.
- Isaiah 26:21Look! Now the Lord is coming from the place where he lives. He is coming to punish the people who live on the earth for their sins. The earth will clearly show the blood that murderers poured out on it. Murderers will no longer be able to hide the people that they have killed.
- Ezekiel 22:24‘Son of man, say to the land of Israel, “I am angry with you. Because of that, you will receive no rain to make you clean.”
- Hosea 4:2They curse people, they tell lies, they murder people, they rob people. They are guilty of adultery. They continue to kill more and more people.
- Micah 4:11But now, at this time, many countries have come together to attack your city. They say: ‘We will destroy Jerusalem and we will enjoy ourselves. We want to see Zion's people in trouble.’
- Matthew 23:31So you are speaking against yourselves. You show that you are the sons of those people who killed God's prophets.
- Luke 11:50Since the beginning of the world, people have killed God's prophets. But God will punish the people who are alive today for all those murders.
Commentaries on Numbers 35:33
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33For blood it defileth the land - The very land was considered as guilty till the blood of the murderer was shed in it. No wonder God is so particularly strict in his laws against murderers, Because he is the author of life, and none have any right to dispose of it but himself. Because life is the time to prepare for the eternal world, and on it the salvation of the soul accordingly depends; therefore it is of infinite consequence to the man that his life…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. 33for bloodshed pollutes the land: If the person who caused a death, whether murder or accidental killing, was not treated as the law commanded, God viewed the land as polluted. Human bloodshed required death as a response (Genesis 4:10–11; 9:6). This rule is different from cases such as Exodus 21:29–30 (see also Leviticus 18:28; Ezekiel 36:17–18; Hosea 4:2–3). This strong warning about murder shows the great value of human life (Exodus 20:13).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 35:33
In the dictionaries
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
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