New International Version
Deuteronomy 19:10
10Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.
Deuteronomy 19:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
- English Standard Version (ESV)lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people.
Context of Deuteronomy 19:10
8If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, 9because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him—then you are to set aside three more cities. Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed. 11But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, and then flees to one of these cities, 12the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die.
Read all of Deuteronomy 19Deuteronomy 19:10 word by word
וְלֹ֤א יִשָּׁפֵךְ֙ דָּ֣ם נָקִ֔י בְּקֶ֣רֶב אַרְצְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וְהָיָ֥ה עָלֶ֖יךָ דָּמִֽים׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- That innocentנָקִיnâqîy nâqîy' · innocentH5355
- bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- be not shedשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: killH8210
- inקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
- thy landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- givethנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- an inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 19:10
- Deuteronomy 19:13Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
- Deuteronomy 21:8Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.” Then the bloodshed will be atoned for,
- 1 Kings 2:31Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed.
- 2 Kings 21:16Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- 2 Kings 24:4including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.
- Psalms 94:21The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
- Proverbs 6:17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
- Isaiah 59:7Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.
- Jeremiah 7:6if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
- Joel 3:19But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
- Jonah 1:14Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”
- Matthew 27:4“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 19:10
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-13Verses 1-13 This and the next two chapters contain enactments designed to protect human life, and to impress its sanctity on Israel. In Deuteronomy 19:1-13 the directions respecting the preparation of the roads to the cities of refuge, the provision of additional cities in case of an extension of territory, and the intervention of the elders as representing the congregation, are unique to Deuteronomy and supplementary to the laws on the same subject given…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-13Cities of refuge were placed in different parts of the land (19:2). They were located carefully so people could reach them easily. A person accused of killing someone could run to one of these cities for protection. There, the person would be safe until a fair trial took place (see 4:41; Numbers 35:6–29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-132. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land--Goelism, or the duty of the nearest kinsmen to avenge the death of a slaughtered relative, being the customary law of that age (as it still is among the Arabs and other people of the East), Moses incorporated it in an improved form with his legislative code. For the protection of the unintentional homicide, he provided certain cities of refuge--three had been destined for this purpose…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 19:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 19
- 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries