Exodus 20:13

20:13 “You shall not murder. ¹ 

Genesis 9:6

9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, ² 

by other humans ³ 

must his blood be shed;

for in God’s image ⁴ 

God ⁵  has made humankind.”

Leviticus 24:17

24:17 “‘If a man beats any person to death, ⁶  he must be put to death.

Numbers 35:16-24

35:16 “But if he hits someone with an iron tool so that he dies, ⁷  he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death. 35:17 If he strikes him by throwing a stone large enough that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death. 35:18 Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon so that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death. 35:19 The avenger ⁸  of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.

35:20 “But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally ⁹  so that he dies, 35:21 or with enmity he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The avenger of blood must kill the murderer when he meets him.

35:22 “But if he strikes him suddenly, without enmity, or throws anything at him unintentionally, 35:23 or with any stone large enough that a man could die, without seeing him, and throws it at him, and he dies, even though he was not his enemy nor sought his harm, 35:24 then the community must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these decisions.

Numbers 35:30-31

35:30 “Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the testimony ¹⁰  of witnesses; but one witness cannot ¹¹  testify against any person to cause him to be put to death. 35:31 Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 19:11-13

19:11 However, suppose a person hates someone else ¹²  and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, ¹³  and then flees to one of these cities. 19:12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger ¹⁴  to die. 19:13 You must not pity him, but purge out the blood of the innocent ¹⁵  from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

Deuteronomy 19:2

19:2 you must set apart for yourselves three cities ¹⁶  in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.

Deuteronomy 12:13

12:13 Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish,

Matthew 26:52

26:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! ¹⁷  For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword.

[20:13]  ¹ tn The verb רָצַח (ratsakh) refers to the premeditated or accidental taking of the life of another human being; it includes any unauthorized killing (it is used for the punishment of a murderer, but that would not be included in the prohibition). This commandment teaches the sanctity of all human life. See J. H. Yoder, “Exodus 20,13: ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’,” Int 34 (1980): 394-99; and A. Phillips, “Another Look at Murder,” JJS 28 (1977): 105-26.

[9:6]  ² tn Heb “the blood of man.”

[9:6]  ³ tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.

[9:6]  ⁴ sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.

[9:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (literally, “soul”) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (HALOT 698 s.v. נכה hif.2). On the difficult of the meaning and significance of the term נֶפֶשׁ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11.

[35:16]  ⁷ tn the verb is the preterite of “die.” The sentence has :“if…he strikes him and he dies.” The vav (ו) consecutive is showing the natural result of the blow.

[35:19]  ⁸ tn The participle גֹּאֵל (go’el) is the one who protects the family by seeking vengeance for a crime. This is the same verb used for levirate marriages and other related customs.

[35:20]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text is more vivid: “by lying in wait.”

[35:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ at the mouth of”; the metonymy stresses it is at their report.

[35:30]  ¹¹ tn The verb should be given the nuance of imperfect of potentiality.

[19:11]  ¹² tn Heb “his neighbor.”

[19:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”

[19:12]  ¹⁴ tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (go’el haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.

[19:13]  ¹⁵ sn Purge out the blood of the innocent. Because of the corporate nature of Israel’s community life, the whole community shared in the guilt of unavenged murder unless and until vengeance occurred. Only this would restore spiritual and moral equilibrium (Num 35:33).

[19:2]  ¹⁶ sn These three cities, later designated by Joshua, were Kedesh of Galilee, Shechem, and Hebron (Josh 20:7-9).

[26:52]  ¹⁷ tn The translation “put your sword back in its place” for this phrase is given in L&N 85.52.