Exodus 21:13

Exodus 21:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
• New International Version (NIV)However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
• New King James Version (NKJV)However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

Context of Exodus 21:13

11And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money. 12He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. 14But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. 15And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

Exodus 21:13 word by word

וַאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א צָדָ֔ה וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אִנָּ֣ה לְיָד֑וֹ וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י לְךָ֙ מָק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָנ֖וּס שָֽׁמָּה׃ סRead the interlinear

• And if a man lie not in waitצָדָהtsâdâh · to ambushH6658
• but Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• deliverאָנָה'ânâh · to meetH579
• into his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• then I will appointשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: appointH7760
• thee a placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• whither he shall fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127

Cross-references for Exodus 21:13

• Numbers 35:11Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
• Deuteronomy 19:4And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;
• Micah 7:2The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
• 1 Samuel 24:4And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which Yhwh said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.
• 2 Samuel 16:10And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because Yhwh hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
• Isaiah 10:7Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
• Deuteronomy 4:41Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
• Deuteronomy 19:1When Yhwh thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land Yhwh thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
• Joshua 20:2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:

Commentaries on Exodus 21:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee - From the earliest times the nearest akin had a right to revenge the murder of his relation, and as this right was universally acknowledged, no law was ever made on the subject; but as this might be abused, and a person who had killed another accidentally, having had no previous malice against him, might be put to death by the avenger of blood, as the nearest kinsman was termed, therefore God provided the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13There was no place of safety for the guilty murderer, not even the altar of Yahweh. Thus all superstitious notions connected with the right of sanctuary were excluded. Adonijah and Joab 1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28 appear to have vainly trusted that the common feeling would protect them, if they took hold of the horns of the altar on which atonement with blood was made Leviticus 4:7. But for one who killed a man “at unawares,” that is, without intending to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 God, who by his providence gives and maintains life, by his law protects it. A wilful murderer shall be taken even from God's altar. But God provided cities of refuge to protect those whose unhappiness it was, and not their fault, to cause the death of another; for such as by accident, when a man is doing a lawful act, without intent of hurt, happens to kill another. Let children hear the sentence of God's word upon the ungrateful and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17The crimes of murder, kidnapping, and cursing or striking one’s parents were punished by death. A person who committed murder gave up his own right to live. Human life is very precious in God’s sight. Even when a death was accidental, it could not simply be ignored. However, the law made a difference between murder and accidental killing. God provided places of refuge (see Numbers 35:6–28). These were special towns where a person who killed someone by…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-367-11. if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his intended wife, or her freedom instantly granted.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 21:13

• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Avenger of blood
• Book
• City
• Crucifixion
• Determine
• Gore
• Push
• Quit

Commentaries on Exodus 21

• 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