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Numbers 35:33

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33 You shall not 1pollute the land in which you live, for blood 2pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except 3by the blood of the one who shed it.
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Numbers 35:33 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 35:33

So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are
The land of Canaan, as it had been by the old inhabitants of it, by idolatry, adultery, and murder:

for blood it defileth the land:
the shedding of innocent blood defiles a nation, and the inhabitants of it, brings guilt thereon, and subjects to punishment:

and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but
by the blood of him that shed it;
or "there can be no expiation" F2, or "atonement made" for it in any other way; the blood of the murderer is required at his hands, and nothing short of it will satisfy law and justice, see ( Genesis 9:6 ) .

FOOTNOTES:

F2 (rpky al) "non posset expiatio", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; to the same sense Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.
Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Numbers 35:33 In-Context

31 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death.
32 And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.
33 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.
34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel."

Cross References 3

  • 1. Psalms 106:38; Jer. 3:1, 2, 9; [Micah 4:11]
  • 2. Psalms 106:38; Jer. 3:1, 2, 9; [Micah 4:11]
  • 3. See Genesis 9:6
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.