Deuteronomy 19:13

13 Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.

Deuteronomy 19:13 in Other Translations

KJV
13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
ESV
13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
NLT
13 Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you.
MSG
13 Don't feel sorry for him. Clean out the pollution of wrongful murder from Israel so that you'll be able to live well and breathe clean air.
CSB
13 You must not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.

Deuteronomy 19:13 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 19:13

Thine eye shall not pity him
This is not said to the avenger of blood, who is not to be supposed to have any pity or compassion on such a person, but to the elders, judges, and civil magistrates of the city to which he belonged, who took cognizance of his case; these were to show him no favour on account of his being a citizen, a neighbour, a relation or friend, or a rich man, or on any account whatever; but without favour or affection were to judge him and put him to death as a murderer; see ( Numbers 35:21 ) ,

but thou shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel;
by which they would be defiled, and be liable to punishment for it; see ( Numbers 35:33 Numbers 35:34 ) , the Targum of Jonathan is,

``shall put away those that shed innocent blood out of Israel;''

put them away by death:

that it may go well with thee;
with the whole land and its inhabitants, and with the city particularly, and the magistrates, and men of it, to which the murderer condemned to death belonged, being continued in the enjoyment of all temporal blessings and mercies.

Deuteronomy 19:13 In-Context

11 But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, and then flees to one of these cities,
12 the 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.
13 Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Deuteronomy 7:2
  • 2. Deuteronomy 21:9; 1 Kings 2:31
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