Numbers 35:33

33 lest ye defoul the land of your habitation, which is defouled by the (shedding of the) blood of innocent men; and it may not be cleansed in (any) other manner, no but by the blood of him, that shedded the blood of another man.

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 Ye shall not take price of him which is guilty of blood, or death, anon and he shall die. (Ye shall not take payment from anyone who is guilty of murder, so that he can live, but he must be put to death at once.)

32 Men exiled, and fugitives, shall not be able to turn again in any manner into their cities, before the death of the bishop, (Exiled people, and fugitives, shall not be able to return to their own cities, for any reason, before the death of the High Priest,)

33 lest ye defoul the land of your habitation, which is defouled by the (shedding of the) blood of innocent men; and it may not be cleansed in (any) other manner, no but by the blood of him, that shedded the blood of another man.

34 And so your possession shall be cleansed, for I shall dwell with you; for I am the Lord, that dwell among the sons of Israel. (And so the land, in which I live with you, shall be made clean, or purified; for I am the Lord, who liveth among the Israelites.)