If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative:
Parallel translations
- WEB then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
- KJV Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:
- BSB then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
- ESV then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
- NKJV then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments.
- NASB then the congregation shall judge between the one who fatally struck the victim and the blood avenger in accordance with these ordinances.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 community must judge between the killer and the avenger according to these laws. Justice is a public, ordered process, not private revenge.
Overview
The congregation is tasked with adjudicating between the manslayer and the avenger of blood by the standards God has given. This establishes due process and communal responsibility for justice, guarding against unchecked retaliation. Such ordered judgment reflects God's own justice and reminds us that He has appointed authorities to restrain evil and protect the innocent (Romans 13:1-4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Josh 20:6He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’”
- Num 35:12The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 35:24 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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