Genesis 9:5

9:5 For your lifeblood ¹  I will surely exact punishment, ²  from ³  every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person ⁴  I will exact punishment for the life of the individual ⁵  since the man was his relative. ⁶ 

Genesis 42:22

42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ⁷ 

Genesis 42:2

42:2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us ⁸  so that we may live ⁹  and not die.” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 24:22

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ¹¹  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ¹²  and gave them to her. ¹³ 

Luke 11:50-51

11:50 so that this generation may be held accountable ¹⁴  for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning ¹⁵  of the world, ¹⁶  11:51 from the blood of Abel ¹⁷  to the blood of Zechariah, ¹⁸  who was killed ¹⁹  between the altar and the sanctuary. ²⁰  Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against ²¹  this generation.

¹ tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.

² tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.

³ tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.

⁴ tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.

⁵ tn Heb “of the man.”

⁶ tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.

⁷ tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.

⁸ tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.

¹⁰ tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.

¹¹ sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

¹² sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).

¹³ tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

¹⁴ tn Or “that this generation may be charged with”; or “the blood of all the prophets… may be required from this generation.” This is a warning of judgment. These people are responsible for the shedding of prophetic blood.

¹⁵ tn Or “foundation.” However, this does not suggest a time to the modern reader.

¹⁶ tn The order of the clauses in this complicated sentence has been rearranged to simplify it for the modern reader.

¹⁷ sn Gen 4:10 indicates that Abel’s blood cried out for justice.

¹⁸ sn It is not clear which Zechariah is meant here. It is probably the person mentioned in 2 Chr 24:20-25.

¹⁹ tn Or “who perished.”

²⁰ tn Or “and the temple”; Grk “and the house,” but in this context a reference to the house of God as a place of sanctuary.

²¹ tn Or “required from.”