Romans 12:19

12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, ¹  for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ²  says the Lord.

Numbers 35:19-27

35:19 The avenger ³  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 ⁴  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. 35:25 The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there ⁵  until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil. 35:26 But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled, 35:27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,

Joshua 20:5

20:5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation. ⁶ 

Joshua 20:9

20:9 These were the cities of refuge ⁷  appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by ⁸  the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly. ⁹ 

Ezekiel 25:14

25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience ¹⁰  my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

[12:19]  ¹ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.

[12:19]  ² sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[35:19]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text is more vivid: “by lying in wait.”

[35:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “in it.”

[20:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “for without knowledge he killed his neighbor, and he was not hating him prior to that.”

[20:9]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads simply “the cities.” The words “for refuge” are supplied for clarification.

[20:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “and not die by the hand of.”

[20:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly.” The words “at least” are supplied for clarification.

[25:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “know.”