Numbers 35:33

33 "'Don't let murder spoil your land. The only way to remove the sin of killing an innocent person is for the murderer to be put to death.

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 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (rpky al) "non posset expiatio", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; to the same sense Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.

Numbers 35:33 In-Context

31 "'Don't take money to spare the life of a murderer who should be put to death. A murderer must be put to death.

32 "'If someone has run to a city of safety, don't take money to let the person go back home before the high priest dies.

33 "'Don't let murder spoil your land. The only way to remove the sin of killing an innocent person is for the murderer to be put to death.

34 I am the Lord, and I live among the Israelites. I live in that land with you, so do not spoil it with murder.'"