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.
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.
- BSB the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to 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.
- 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 2:5–6“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
- 1 Kgs 2:28–34This news came to Joab; for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he didn’t follow Absalom. Joab fled to Yahweh’s Tent, and held onto 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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