Numbers 35:16

16 " 'Suppose a person uses an iron object to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.

Numbers 35:16 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 35:16

And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he
die
As with an hatchet, hammer, sword, knife, &c.

he is a murderer;
the instrument used by him, and with which he smote, shows that he had a bad design, and intended to kill, or he would never have smitten a man with such an instrument:

the murderer shall surely be put to death;
be condemned to death, and be executed, by the order of the civil magistrate, according to the law in ( Genesis 9:6 ) and not be allowed the benefit of a city of refuge.

Numbers 35:16 In-Context

14 Three will be east of the Jordan River. The other three will be in Canaan.

15 " 'Those six towns will be places where the people of Israel can go for safety. Outsiders and any other people living in Israel can also go to them for safety. So anyone who has killed another person by accident can run there.

16 " 'Suppose a person uses an iron object to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.

17 Or suppose a person is holding a stone that could kill. And he uses it to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.

18 Or suppose a person is holding a wooden object that could kill. And he uses it to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.