the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.
Parallel translations
- WEB then the elders of his city shall send and bring him there, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
- KJV Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
- NKJV then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
- NASB then the elders of his city shall send men and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die.
- NLT In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The elders are to extract a guilty murderer from the refuge city and hand him to the avenger of blood. Justice must be carried out even against those seeking shelter falsely.
Overview
If investigation proves the killing was murder, the city's elders deliver the guilty man to face the avenger. The refuge offered no protection to the truly culpable. This upholds the integrity of justice, ensuring sanctuary is not abused to evade the rightful penalty for murder.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Kgs 2:5–6Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
- 1 Kgs 2:28–34When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 19:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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