But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
Parallel translations
- WEB If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
- KJV But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
- NKJV “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.
- NASB If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.
- NLT However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and 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
A man who murders by scheming presumption is to be taken even from the altar to die. No religious refuge shields deliberate murder from justice.
Overview
Premeditated murder receives no sanctuary, not even at God's altar; justice must be done. The law refuses to let religion become a cover for willful evil. This shows that God's mercy never excuses unrepentant sin, and true refuge from judgment is found only in Christ, not in mere external religion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 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.
- Heb 10:26If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Num 15:30–31But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.
- Deut 19:11–13If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
- Deut 18:22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
- Ps 19:13Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression.
- Num 35:20–21Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him,
- 2 Sam 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
- Deut 17:12–13But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
- Deut 1:43So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
- 1 Kgs 1:50–51But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
- 2 Kgs 11:15And Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the house of the LORD.”
- 2 Pet 2:10Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
- 2 Sam 20:9–10“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- Deut 27:24‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 21:14 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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