New International Version
Numbers 35:31
31“ ‘Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death.
Context of Numbers 35:31
29“ ‘This is to have the force of law for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live. 30“ ‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. “ ‘Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death. 32“ ‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest. 33“ ‘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.
Read all of Numbers 35Numbers 35:31 word by word
וְלֹֽא־תִקְח֥וּ כֹ֙פֶר֙ לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ רֹצֵ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־ה֥וּא רָשָׁ֖ע לָמ֑וּת כִּי־מ֖וֹת יוּמָֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 35:31
- Genesis 9:5And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
- Exodus 21:14But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
- Deuteronomy 19:11But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, and then flees to one of these cities,
- 2 Samuel 12:13Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
- 1 Kings 2:28When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar.
- Psalms 51:14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your 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
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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